


The Little Spider

by spookyboi29



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/F, F/M, Generation Z Peter Parker, Good Friend Peter Parker, Good Loki (Marvel), Lesbian Maria Hill, M/M, Natasha Romanov Is a Good Bro, Natasha Romanov Joins SHIELD, POV Original Female Character, Parent Natasha Romanov, Parent Tony Stark, Protective Loki (Marvel), Protective Natasha Romanov, Smut, everyone is bi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-20
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:00:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 25,352
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28200543
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spookyboi29/pseuds/spookyboi29
Summary: Amelia was going to have a pretty normal life, the daughter of some dodgy American Government Officials who only wanted the best for her. But when Amelia's parents are the targets of the Black Widow, her life changes for ever when Natasha sees herself in the little girl with red hair.The story of Amelia Romanov, the adopted daughter of Natasha Romanov, and her life as a budding spy for SHIELD/Avengers.(Takes place around Iron Man 2 time, based off the new official timeline, will eventually catch up to current avengers sadness :((()
Relationships: Bruce Banner/Natasha Romanov, James "Bucky" Barnes/Original Female Character(s), James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers, Loki (Marvel)/Original Female Character(s), Maria Hill/Natasha Romanov, Natasha Romanov (Marvel)/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 75





	1. Two Black Widows

**Author's Note:**

> The first couple of chapters are in Natashas POV just to start the story before she meets Amelia (the main character). 
> 
> This is my first fanfic so it's not amazing but it's just a bit of fun.

London, 28th April 2008  
Natasha's POV 

It was just another mission you told yourself, not so different than ones you had completed before, then why were you so nervous? Perhaps because they hadn't told you much about the two targets you had to 'deal with' tonight, or that it was on American soil, something you liked to avoid. Whatever it was, you couldn't let it stop you from completing your mission, the leaders of the Black Widow Ops weren't keen on failure, and you were not keen on how they dealt with them. 

"Natasha, stop staring out the window and pack your bag, your flight leaves in an hour," Anna said, walking into the room.   
"Yes, ma'am" you replied with a hint of sarcasm as you walked over to the wardrobe to pack your things. Another life you would leave behind, another identity gone forever. 

Anna had been your "roommate" while you were both undercover in London. You never knew what her assignment was, but you did know it had been completed when she walked into your flat with blood splatters on her evening gown. She did look incredible in that gown, it was a deep forest green that matched her eyes wonderfully, she had slightly curled her short brown hair to give it small waves that framed her face. A face that had the most beautiful smile, one that you couldn't help but love even though you knew you shouldn't. Black Widows aren't supposed to be capable of love, they have no need for it, love won't help you complete a mission. And yet Anna made you feel something, if it was love you weren't sure, that wasn't a feeling you were familiar with. But when you looked in her eyes, felt her arms wrapped around you, her lips on yours, you felt a warmness that no one had ever given you before. 

"Is someone away with the fairies again?" Anna asked with a giggle. You turned to look at her as she walked towards you with a smile across her face.   
"No, I was just thinking," you told her, pulling her in for a hug.   
"About what? No, let me guess, about me?" she laughed as she placed her head on your shoulder.   
"You wish, I was thinking about how I have a nice holiday away from you, I need a break that's for sure". As the words left your mouth, Anna squeezed you tight in annoyance. "I am going to miss you, Anna" you whispered. You had loved this assignment, being placed with Anna as two students at King's College London; Maria and Bethany. It was almost as if you had a normal life for those two weeks, you went shopping together, drank in bars surrounded by other young people, held each other's hand as you walked down the street. But it was never meant to last, and how could it when neither you nor Anna had regular lives, an impossibility when you arrive at the Red Room. 

You stood there, holding each other, knowing it would be the last time until you both returned back to Russia. You didn't know where your next assignment would be, but you hoped you'd be close to her again.   
"You have to leave soon" Anna spoke, breaking the silence. You had packed your things, you didn't need much as it would be an easy mission. Your targets were a couple, so a home invasion style would do the trick, it does make it easier when they are asleep, less screaming.   
"I won't be gone for long, this should be easy enough" you told Anna, pulling away. You looked around your flat one last time as you gathered your things, it was small but indeed more agreeable than other places you had stayed. Large bay windows lit up the living room, bookshelves filled with novels in almost every language, houseplants you had bought with Anna at the markets on the coffee table, a coffee stain on the orange sofa and the ugliest rug you had ever seen. It wasn't much, but for a short time, it was yours.   
"I'll drive you," Anna said with sadness, you never saw her express much emotion, but these past weeks you had grown closer and you had seen a new side to her, one not seen in the Red Room. You smiled at her, hoping it would stop the tears from escaping your eyes. You knew it was a mistake to get close to people, for this reason, it always ends in hurt because someone still leaves. 

Anna got you to Heathrow 10 minutes before check-in closed, only allowing a short goodbye. Neither of you cried as we're both professionals, but you couldn't stop the feeling of sadness you felt inside, that warmth she gave you suddenly gone. You wondered into the airport, leaving your life, and happiness, as Maria behind, not stopping to turn to look at Anna because you knew you would run back to her. Instead, you took on your latest identity, Lucy Cambridge, an American from Washington D.C. returning home after a long vacation in Europe. You read your mission statement as you waited to board your flight, getting prepared to kill once again. 

The flight was uneventful, no turbulence and sat next to an adorable old couple who asked you a few questions before going to sleep for most of the flight. The food was bland, the book you were reading was okay but not immensely entertaining. You picked it up in the gift shop before the flight, it was about a woman leaving her long-term boyfriend to 'discover herself'. Something you almost wished you had to worry about in your life, rather than how best to assassinate someone. After the plane landed, you made your way to the parking garage and found a car left for you, with a new go-bag inside. The bag contained your weapons, some cash, and the address to the safehouse you would be staying in. You often wondered whose job it was to pack up these bags and drive the cars to the right locations, and what did they do once they'd dropped off the car, how did they get home? 

You pondered this as you drove to the address provided, but ultimately decided it didn't matter, you got the car, who cares how it gets there. Once in the apartment, you placed your bags in the wardrobe and went for a quick shower. Whilst showering, you planned out your strategy for this evenings activity, trying not to think about who it was you were going after, especially as you were in D.C. You decided to have a quick nap before leaving to the targets' house as you realised how tired you were stepping out of the shower. The bed was warm and cosy, despite the old springs digging into your back, you soon fell asleep and had a pleasant dream about a life with Anna. You were living in a small cottage in the English countryside, far away from people and your old lives. With a beautiful garden, filled with as many flowers and homegrown fruits and vegetables as you could possibly fit, it was your very own garden of Eden. When you started to awake, you realised it wasn't real, and probably never would be, so you squeezed your eyes and begged your mind to stay asleep, just a little while longer. 


	2. Capitol Hill

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Natasha completes her mission, but is taken by surprise when she finds a child she wasn't informed her targets had. She is instructed to do something she really doesn't want to do, but can she really defy her boss?

Washington D.C., 29th April 2008.   
Natasha's POV 

You reluctantly rolled out of bed and started to get dressed for the upcoming mission. The assassination of two individuals, a married couple, for reasons that were need-to-know, and you didn't need to know. The likelihood was they were associated with both the Russian and U.S. governments and managed to piss one of them off. You decided they had done something wrong that had killed innocent people, or maybe they were corrupt and started a war for the wrong reasons, and for that reason, they needed to die. Doing this settled your mind and made you feel better about your job, something you often did to help with the guilt associated with all the red in your ledger. You had thought about getting out of this line of work, and you even had an offer to work for the 'other side', but were reluctant to leave the Black Widows. After all, it was all you knew, and Russia doesn't take kindly to traitors, so the risk involved didn't seem worth it. You fantasised about starting a new life as you drove to the targets' house, pondering if Anna would leave with you. For the first time it felt as if this was a possibility, you had a glimpse of what this life could look like when in London, aside from the few assassinations carried out. You weren't sure what had gotten into you, but something was making you reconsider, and you wondered what would push you over the edge. 

You pulled over about a quarter-mile out from the house and walked the rest of the way. Even if it was late at night, you couldn't risk being seen. As you walked down the street, you got your earpiece out to communicate with your boss. Talking through your missions wasn't something you usually did, but they had requested it, no, insisted on it for this mission. 

"Natalia, what is your location?" Madame B asked you. Madame B was in charge of all the Black Widow assassins, a cruel woman with whom you knew not to question.   
"I am coming up to the target location now, Madame" you replied.  
"Good, I want you in and out swiftly, this shouldn't take long" she instructed you.   
"Yes, Madame" you replied.

The house was on a very fancy looking street on Capitol Hill, this confirming your theory the couple were important people. You made your way around the back of the house, as it was a corner lot this was easy enough and climbed the fence onto the courtyard. The large red brick house stood in front of you; it was far too large for just two people. There were at least five bedrooms, if not more, and the feeling of nausea filled your stomach as the thought of potential children entered your mind. They hadn't mentioned any in the mission brief, but then again, they hadn't discussed much. You pushed the thought out of your mind and found an open window on the second floor which you swiftly climbed through, using the porch cover to get up there. And there it was, your worst fear right in front of you.   
"Natalia, what is going on? I don't hear any movement." Madame B asked you with frustration. You stood there frozen, not sure what to do. There was a girl, fast asleep in front of you; she looked about 12 or 13 with red curly hair not so different from yours.   
"Madame, there is a little girl here, I was not informed there would be children involved," you whispered.   
"We weren't sure she was going to be there. She often stays at her grandmother's. Well then, it looks like you have an extra target, go after the parents first and kill the girl on your way out." Madame B told you. You were confused about how she could say this so casually. She had asked you to murder a child, something so pure and innocent. But then again, what life would she have without her parents, maybe it was for the best that she would die peacefully in her sleep after having what you assumed to be a good childhood.   
"Yes, Madame" you replied, and quietly moved out the room. You were extra careful to remain as quiet as possible climbing up the stairs, as not to wake the sleeping girl who now lay downstairs. You pulled out your gun and placed the silencer on the weapon, and swiftly fired two shots directly in the parents' heads. You sighed, knowing what was coming next, something you truly hated doing.   
"Are the targets gone, Natalia?" Madame B asked you.   
"Yes, Madame" you whispered.  
"Good, now finish up and get out of that house pronto." Madame B told you with no remorse about what you were about to do.   
But as you turned around to head back down the stairs, you were startled with someone kicking you in the back of the knee. You fell to the ground but quickly jumped back up to assess who it was that had attacked you, and to your shock, it was the little girl. 

"Who are you, and what are you doing in my house?" she demanded.   
"That is not something you need to know sweetheart," you told her, preparing yourself for another surprise attack from the girl. She did not attack you. Instead, she looked passed your shoulder, and the look of shock and horror crossed her face as she saw your handy work.   
"Really? Well, it appears you have just murdered my parents, so I'm starting to think I do," she said, anger building up inside her. 

"Natalia, what on earth is going on?" Madame B asked you, also with anger in her voice.   
"I'm a little busy right now Madame," you told her as you defended yourself against the weak punches coming from the girl. It appeared she was not attacking in anger or revenge for what you had done to her parents, but more in fear of what you might do for her. She was undoubtedly a smart young thing.   
"From the sounds of it that young girl has some guts, trying to take down a Black Widow, the poor thing," Madame B said, understanding the situation as you told the girl to stand down. "On second thoughts, perhaps you should bring her in, she might make quite the spy. I've got her school records here, yes we could certainly train her to be an expert ballerina, don't you think Natalia, she even looks like you" said Madame B. A rush of anger and fear coursing through your body, you accidentally hit the girl a bit too hard, causing her to fall to the ground and lie there unconscious.   
"What?" you asked with anger. How could you bring the girl in, knowing what her future would be, knowing exactly what she'd go through. How could Madame B expect you to do this, you're not a recruiter, that is not your job.   
"Bring the girl in, that is your new assignment" Madame B instructed you, but you couldn't do it. You stared at her, and she looked as if she was asleep again, so peaceful, so innocent. How could you turn her into yourself, how could you make her do all the terrible things you had done, how could you let her become a Black Widow.   
"Natalia, you bring her in now. Is it not easier than killing her?" Madame B asked you. Your heart was racing, with millions of thoughts in your head, what were you going to do? You couldn't bring her with you, but you certainly couldn't leave her all on her own.   
"No." You replied, and shot your gun, took out your earpiece and shot that for good measure. 


	3. Decisions Decisions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the events at Capitol Hill, Natasha must figure out her next moves with the help of an old enemy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last chapter with Natasha's POV now that our main character has been introduced!! Its a little longer than previous ones but I wanted to get started on the main story :)

Natasha's POV

Adrenaline was now coursing through your blood, and you stood there in shock of what you had done. You never went against the wishes of Madame B, but there didn't seem like you had any other option. With the girl lying at your feet, you decided to find out more about the family, and what exactly had made them your target. You found the fathers office next to the master bedroom. It was stupidly large, with a large mahogany desk at the far end of the room with matching bookcases wrapping around the walls. Two armchairs and a small coffee table sat in the middle of the room, which you imagined were for meetings that he held. You ran over to the desk, and it had two sets of draws at either end, the one on the right appeared to be a filing cabinet, which should hold the information you needed. You pulled open the top draw to find many of those infamous brown files with the U.S. emblem stamped on the front. You started flicking through them, absorbing the information as you skim-read the reports. Then you got the file at the back of the cabinet draw, it was the same shade of brown as the others but had a very different emblem on the front. It was a large double-headed eagle, and its eyes seemed to be staring right at you; the Russian Coat of Arms, and then the pieces fit together into a perfect puzzle. The family worked for the American government with a ventured interest in U.S.- Russia relations, because they were being paid large sums by the very same people who paid your salary. But, as you had guessed, they managed to piss off the Russians, so they had to be dealt with. They weren't good people, traitors to their own country, changing the lives of both Americans and Russians because they wanted to line their pockets. This information bought you some relief, but not for long as you realised you had just murdered two government officials, meaning you had to get out of their house ASAP. 

Your phone started to ring, and you knew who it was, so you ignored it not wanting to get bollocked by your boss while trying to flee a crime scene. You ran passed the girl, knowing you couldn't leave her there and picked her up throwing her over your shoulder. This did make it a little harder to climb out the window and over the fence, but you managed it none the less. You then carried her in your arms as you walked back to your car, as it looked slightly less suspicious, but it meant you had to look at her face. 

You made it back to the safe house, and with the adrenaline wearing off, you started to panic. Realising what you had done you needed to figure out your next moves, what would you tell Madame B? How badly would you be punished? Could you even go back? As these thoughts rushed through your mind, you heard a noise from the bedroom. 

"H-hello? Where am I? Where did you take me?" said a scared voice from the behind the bedroom door.   
"It's okay. You're safe. I'm not going to hurt you. What is your name?" You asked the voice.   
"Um... I'm Amelia..." she said with hesitance.   
"Hello Amelia, my name is Natasha. I need you to go back to sleep for a bit now okay?" you told her, still speaking through the door.   
"Okay," Amelia replied. You heard her walk back to the bed. You sighed feeling guilty about taking her parents and her life away from her, but you couldn't let Madame B have her, and you certainly couldn't kill her, so what choice did you have. And then the thought came to you. This was it, that push you had been waiting for. 

You ran over to the bag you had brought with you from London, throwing everything out of it until you found what you needed. A small card that strange man with the bow and arrows had given you. He had most likely been sent to kill you, but he made a different call and tried to recruit you. You thought this was stupid of him because surely he knew who you worked for, that Black Widows weren't shopping around for different jobs. Nonetheless, he tried, and he failed. Until now, it seemed, and you were grateful that he gave you this card in case you changed your mind. The card was plain white except for the name Clint and a phone number written on it in terrible handwriting. You pulled out your phone, ignoring the six missed calls from Madame B, and dialled the number, ready to jump over the edge. You closed your eyes as you waited for someone to pick up, it seemed to ring forever before you heard his voice. 

"Hello?" he said, his voice was raspy as if he had just woken up, and given that it was three in the morning it was likely that you had woken him up.   
"Hi, is this Clint? The bow and arrow man?" you asked, your heart beating so fast you thought it must burst. You couldn't quite believe what you were doing.   
"That depends on who's asking," he replied.   
"We met in London. I'm rather insulted you don't remember me" you replied, feigning confidence.   
"Oh I would remember that voice anywhere, I didn't mean to insult you, dear, I just had to be sure. Now, what can I do for you at this time in the morning? If it is a booty call you're after I'm afraid I'm not allowed to sleep with the enemy, as much as I would like to" he said, his voice sounding normal as he started to wake up. That comment made you laugh, and you started to calm down.   
"What if I told you I didn't want what to be the enemy anymore?" smiling as you spoke down the phone.   
"Well, that would make things interesting. Why the sudden change of heart?" Clint asked you. You didn't know how to reply to this. How much should you tell him? If you told him too much, he might take the offer off the table.   
"I have gotten myself into a tricky situation. The big man wants me to do something I'm not sure I want to do. So I'm thinking of a career change, do you think you could help me out?" you told him, hoping that wasn't too vague of an answer.   
"A career change is a good thing for all of us every now and then. I should be able to help you out, are you safe where you are?" he said with his tone turning more serious.   
"I don't think my boss is too pleased I'm not picking up the phone, so I'm going to take a guess and say I won't be safe for long" you replied, knowing every word you said to be true.   
"I understand, what's your location? I might be able to send someone round to pick you up" he told you.   
"I'm in D.C., not far from Capitol Hill. If you send me a safe location I can make my way there myself" you told him, wanting to keep Amelia a secret for a little while longer.   
"You're in luck, my dear, I'm also in D.C., send me your address, and I'll be round to pick you up soon," he said and could you almost detect a smile on his face.  
"You don't have to pick me up Clint," you said worryingly, what would he think when he saw Amelia?  
"Don't be stupid. I'm getting in the car now. Pack your things I'll be there soon." and with that, he hung up the phone. You had no choice now, so you sent him your address and waited.

You got restless thinking about what to tell Clint, and what to tell Amelia. I mean what would you say to her, I killed your parents, but they were terrible people, so it's okay? And what would she think when you told her you would look after her. How stupid would that sound, that you want to take care of the girl whose parents you just killed? You stood up from the sofa and walked over to the bedroom. The safehouse was a small, ground floor one-bedroom apartment that would've suited you fine if you stuck to your mission, you probably would be on your way to your next assignment by now. You knocked on the door and waited for Amelia's response.  
"Hello?" Amelia said, startled as if you had just woken her.   
"Can I come in, Amelia?" you asked her.  
"I guess," she said nervously.   
You opened the door and saw her curled up on the bed, and she didn't seem all that scared of you, which you took as a good sign. You walked over and sat next to her on the bed.  
"I'm sorry, Amelia, for what I did to your parents. I had little choice in the matter they were my mission. But I want you to know I'm not going to hurt you. I'm never going to hurt you. I want to take care of you now if you will let me," you told her, looking at her in the eye, making sure she knew you were telling the truth.   
"It's okay. My parents weren't good people. I've known that for a long time now. I'm not sure if they deserved to be murdered, but here we are. I am confused though, why do you want to take care of me? I mean aren't you a bad person? Bad people shouldn't have kids." Amelia replied. Those last words you guessed she spoke from experience. You wondered how her parents had treated her, as she didn't seem significantly hurt by their death.   
"You're right. I am a bad person. But I don't want to be. I haven't wanted that for a long time. I don't think I ever wanted it. I think I was told that's what I was supposed to be. I grew up without any parents, and that's what turned me into what I am today. I don't want that for you. I want you to be happy and live a semi-normal life. I understand if you don't want that life with me, I mean you don't even know me, but I would be happy to have you," you told her, breaking eye contact as you spoke the last sentence.   
"I don't like any of my other family, and that is who I would have to live with otherwise. So, despite the fact you're an assassin, life with you would be better than living with my grandparents. But don't tell them I told you that." and as the words left her mouth, a smile spread across your face. You don't know why you suddenly decided this was the life you wanted, but you did want it. 

You both jumped when you heard a knock at the door, and then you realised it must be Clint.   
"It's okay, someones here to take us someplace safe, okay?" you told Amelia.   
"Okay," she replied as you both got off the bed. You led the way out of the bedroom and to the front door. You sighed with relief when you opened it to find Clint with a big grin on his face.   
"Not a bad place you've got yourself here love," he said to you, keeping that stupid grin on his face. You laughed and invited him in.   
"What the fuck Natasha?" he said as you closed the door, knowing full well what he meant. "Why is there a kid here. What did you do?" he asked you with anger, starting to fill his voice.   
"I didn't mean to Clint! I had no choice they wanted her dead, or worse to train her" you said trying to keep your voice down. He sighed, he clearly wasn't happy with you but what choice did he have now.   
"You should've told me, Nat, I only arranged for a one-bedroom apartment. Great now I have to ask Maria for another favour," he said, pulling out his phone. But when you heard the name Maria you suddenly remembered Anna. What would she think? Does she know what you did? Oh god, would you ever see her again? You quickly pulled yourself together; this was not the time for romantic drama.   
"Okay, you two are all sorted. Hey kiddo, why don't you go hop in the car while Natasha and I bring the bags out?" he asked Amelia. She agreed and walked out to the car.   
"What exactly is the plan here, Nat? I didn't take you as the mom-type" Clint asked you as you gathered your things and walked to the car.   
"Things change Clint; people change," you told him. 

The three of you sat in silence as Clint drove you to your new apartment, where you would start your new life with Amelia. It seemed to have happened so quickly, but you knew it was the right thing to do. Clint had sent you an email with an official job offer from SHIELD, where you could start working whenever you wanted. You turned at looked at Amelia in the back seat, you smiled at eachother and for the first time in a long time, you felt free. 


	4. New York City

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Natasha has been Amelia's adoptive mother for three years now, and what a better way to celebrate than by bringing her on a mission.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a bit of an intro into Amelia's new life! 
> 
> I am planning on going back to Natasha's POV every now and then just because I need more Natasha/Maria content in my life! 
> 
> Hope you enjoy :)

New York, 29th April 2011  
Amelia's POV

It was your third anniversary with Natasha, and you couldn't quite believe you'd only known her for three years. It was starting to feel like she was your actual mother; she indeed showed you more affection than your biological mother ever did. You didn't necessarily have a bad life with your parents; you had a nice roof over your head, you went to an excellent school, had all the toys you ever asked for, and would never have to worry about money. Despite all this, you were never happy, a fact you always felt guilty about as there were plenty of children who would be very happy in your shoes. And there were, all the girls at your private school loved their lives, loved their rich daddies and the lifestyle they provided for them. That was one of the reasons you never fit in there, you very much kept to yourself at that school so didn't have any friends, but you decided that was not something you needed. 

You had your life planned out, you had already skipped a grade and was planning on graduating early, then going to college as far away as from home as possible, you were thinking England as you could do a bachelors and a masters in just four years. Then you could get a good job, maybe somewhere else in Europe, you were already fluent in Spanish and French, thanks to the many nannies and maids you'd had in the past, and then you'd finally be free of your parents. The parents you weren't sure ever wanted you in the first place.

The life you had planned out for yourself when you were only 13 was ripped apart when the red-haired spy snuck into your house and murdered your parents as you slept downstairs. You often think back to that night and laugh at how you tried to fight Natasha, and you can't believe that you thought she might hurt you now that you know deep down she's a big softie. It might seem strange to some people how you are unbelievably grateful to Natasha for doing what she did that night, how could you be happy that your parents were dead? And you could try to explain how you never felt any love for them because they never felt any love for you. You had no strong feelings about them what so ever, not hate or love, they were your parents, but they never acted like it. And maybe you could tell them how your life had improved tenfold since Nat took you in, that when you sat in that car with Clint and your new mom you felt strangely free for the first time. But what you couldn't explain to them is that this must have been fate, this was always meant to be, you were always meant to be Natasha Romanov's daughter. 

Most people didn't question that you were her daughter, you had the same red hair, and most people didn't look past that. But if you took a closer look, you would start to see some differences, aside from the fact you liked to keep your hair short and Nat had grown hers out since you first met her. Natasha had pale, cool-toned skin, while you had warmer, olive-toned skin with freckles that danced across your nose, that also differed from Natasha's. She had a small, perfectly straight nose that stood freckle-free, whilst yours wasn't significantly larger but had a small bump in the middle. Perhaps the most significant difference was your smile. Natasha rarely seemed to smile, not a real one anyway, which is why you loved it when she did. When you made her proud, you would know because she had the biggest smile across her face, and whenever Maria Hill came round you suspected she was trying very hard to hide her grin. You, however, smiled a lot more than you used to, you loved to laugh and show people that you were happy, because you finally were. You did have your differences, but red hair wasn't the only thing you shared. You both had piercing green eyes, something you believed to be a sign you were meant to be, after all the eyes are the window to the soul. 

You climbed out of bed and decided to make breakfast for the both of you. You weren't sure if Nat would be around today as she was still working as a spy, just for the other side. She would often leave on missions, of course never telling you where she went but always bring you back a present. When Nat would leave, one of many SHIELD agents would come round to check on you, but the only one you liked was Maria. She didn't treat you like a helpless little kid, and she was cool, you could see why Nat liked her so much.

As you made the pancakes you wondered if Nat might let you take the day off school, this was something she let you often do as you always got high grades anyway. What you wanted was for her to home school you permanently, as she was giving you extracurricular lessons already, that would, as Nat described it, 'teach you real-life skills'. You laughed when she described them this way, did everyone need to learn martial arts and boxing to be able to fight, or learn how to handle guns and a variety of other weapons, your favourite being knives. 

It's not like you didn't like school, it was far better than the all-girls school you attended in D.C., and you had a few friends, but you couldn't exactly invite them round when your apartment is filled with strange weapons and a boxing ring. Clint had moved you and Natasha to a very nice apartment in Manhattan; SHIELD had decided it was best to keep you away from your old life and start a new one in New York after changing your last name to Romanov.

The two-floor apartment was far nicer than you expected, it was on the 20th floor of a large apartment block, that had a lovely doorman who you always stopped to talk to when you got home from school. You asked him about his family. He had two sons and a daughter of who he was incredibly proud. He and his wife seemed like the perfect couple; he surprised her with flowers, went on regular dates, and they were deeply in love with one another. This love was not something you had seen before. Your parents weren't in love, that was very obvious. Natasha didn't have someone like that in her life; you think she had someone once. When you first lived together, you would hear her on the phone to someone, frantically apologising for what she had done. You assume the thing she had done was abandon them and left for America. 

You finished making breakfast, bringing the two plates into the living room and turned on the TV. You called Nat down to join you, and you heard her moving in the bedroom above you. The TV was on the news channel which was still covering the Stark Expo that was taking place this year. You and Nat had watched Tony open the expo in this same living room. You had heard of Tony Start and all of his accomplishments before, but this was your first time hearing him speak. His reputation indeed proceeded him. He was an arrogant billionaire but in an almost charming way. His perfectly trimmed facial hair and expensive suit reminded you of your father and his colleagues, but his attitude was far off theirs. Tony believed what he was saying, that he wanted peace and a sustainable planet for the future, something he could provide. You also watched him testify when the U.S. government asked him to hand over the Iron Man suit. You liked watching him make jokes and embarrass the senators and the weird weapons contractor that for some reason you didn't like.

Natasha also seemed to enjoy watching his testimony, and you found a rather large file on Tony Stark in her office later that day. You knew Agent Colson had already made contact with Tony Stark. He had told you all about him when you were watching Supper Nanny together when Nat was away on a mission. When Nat told you a few days later she had been assigned a new assignment you guess she was off the Malibu to also make contact with Tony Stark as SHIELD had been keeping an eye on him ever since he announced he was Iron Man. She had been back for a few days, but you knew she wouldn't be here for long. 

You continued to watch the Expo coverage until you heard Nat come down the stairs. She was dressed in a suit, and you realised your prediction was correct, she would be leaving today. 

  
"Happy third mother-daughter anniversary!" Nat said with a smile on her face. It seemed she was in a good mood, so maybe she would let you have a day off.   
"I made pancakes to celebrate. What are you all dressed up for? Leaving so soon?" you asked her as she sat down next to you.   
"Unfortunately I do have to go back to work today," she told you, turning to face you before continuing. "But it's not all bad news. You get to come with me this time" she said. You dropped your cutlery onto the plate and placed it on the coffee table in front of you.   
"Are you serious?" you asked her, not quite believing the words that just came out of her mouth.   
"Yes, I would never lie to you, sweetheart. For reasons I can't be too specific about, I have to go to Monaco. I am undercover as a certain billionaires assistant, so I managed to get away with bringing you along with me," she explained. You knew it. The billionaire was Tony Stark, but you didn't understand why she had to go undercover, Stark knew who Colson worked for SHIELD. But you didn't question it. You were just excited to go with her this time.  
"OMG Nat that's awesome! When do we leave? I have to pack my bag. Do I even have anything to wear in Monaco? It's so fancy over there, how long are we going?" you asked her, speaking very fast as you were so excited, you often thought out loud like this which Nat didn't like.   
"Calm down. I have already packed your bag and laid out some clothes on your bed. We will be leaving shortly, so go and get dressed." Nat told you, placing her hands on your shoulder forcing you to simmer. You nodded and shot up off the sofa and ran towards the stairs.   
"Oh, and if anyone asks Amelia, you are my sister, understand? I don't think Tony Stark would be quite as interested in me if he found out I had a 16-year-old daughter." She told you with a stern voice.   
"Yes, ma'am" you replied and ran up the stairs to your room, excited for the adventure ahead.


	5. Monaco's Calling

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A slightly shorter chapter but I wanted to introduce Tony in the next one which is exciting!  
> Hope you enjoy it :)))

This was not how you thought your day was going to pan out. Best case scenario you had a day off school and Nat took you out to the gun range and then for dinner at your favourite restaurant. But this was far better, you were on a plane, sat in first class, on your way to Monaco to join Nat on her latest assignment. You didn't know exactly what you'd be doing when you got there, but to be honest, you didn't care. You hadn't left New York, let alone the country since your parents had died. Your friends from school told you all about their vacations to different parts of the U.S., and you had begged Nat to take you to the Grand Canyon, Disney World, or even just back to D.C. to visit the Smithsonian. She had promised, but work had always got in the way of your plans. She would always make up for it by taking you out of school and having a day together in NYC, and you could tell she felt guilty.   
"You should try to get some sleep. It will help with the jet lag when we get there" Nat told you before putting the divider up. First-class was very nice, you had your little section with a seat that could lie all the way flat. The air stewards had greeted you with a glass of orange juice, Nat got Champagne, there was a food menu on the tray table listing the different meals you would be getting on the 8-hour flight, and you were handed a goody-bag once you sat down. The bag contained a blanket, a small pillow, headphones, a wash bag, and a pair of thick socks; all things that would make this flight extremely comfortable. You pulled out the blanket and pillow from the pack and lowered your seat until it was flat, listening to Nat and getting some sleep. 

You were woken up by one of the air stewards announcing the plane would be landing shortly. You were surprised that you had slept for most of the flight, but excited that you had already made it to Monaco. You folded up your blanket and placed it back in the bag, along with the pillow, brought your seat back up, and fastened your belt. As you did this, Nat lowered the divider between your seats.   
"Did you get much sleep, sweetheart?" she asked you.  
"Yeah I slept surprisingly well, first-class is the way to travel," you replied, laughing at your comment.   
"Well, don't get used to it," Nat told you with a wink. 

After a boring experience going through border control and collecting your bags from the luggage belt, you and Nat headed to the hotel you'd be staying at. You finally learned why Nat was going to Monaco from the radio, it was the Monaco Grande Prix, and Tony Stark was going to be there. You didn't know what you would be doing while she was busy with Tony but hopeful you'd be able to watch the Grande Prix and maybe explore the city. You pulled up at the Hotel de Paris Monte-Carlo and was in awe of its beauty. It was a large white building with beautiful sculptures carved into the walls. A man greeted you as you got out of the car and showed you up the marble stairs to the hotel entrance as another hotel staff member got your bags out of the taxi. As you walked through the opening, you noticed the beautiful marble columns that stood on either side of the door and you were greeted by a bronze statue of a man with long curly hair sat on a horse that stood right in front of the door. Your breath was taken away as you looked around the large lobby, a stained-glass dome lit up the room with a gorgeous chandelier dangling below. Sculptures continued inside with beautiful carvings in the white ceiling with arches that joined the pillars at both ends of the lobby and depictions of angels at the top of the walls either side of you. You had stopped to admire the architecture and managed to get in the way of a slightly chubby man in a suit who looked very flustered. 

"Hey kid, do you mind?" he half-yelled at you, quickly moving out the way you apologised, and he swiftly ran past you. You looked around realising you had lost sight of Nat, trying to look for her you appreciated the size of the lobby and started to get worried. You had been in Monaco for under an hour, and already you were lost. Well lost might have been an exaggeration, you found her soon enough at the front desk talking to someone. It was that flustered man you had briefly met, and you weren't sure if you should interrupt them or not. You started to walk towards the desk, waiting for a signal of some sort from Nat as to where she wanted you to be. You stared at her trying to catch her eye, and when you did, she smiled at you.   
"Amelia, do you like the hotel?" Nat said to you, and you were slightly confused as to how normal she was being.   
"Uhh, yeah it's very fancy, kinda feel out of place," you said starting to feel a bit awkward when the man also turned to look at you.   
"Yeah well, only the best for Tony," the man said, looking at you, but you weren't sure if he was actually talking to you.   
"Happy, this is my sister Amelia. Amelia, this Happy, he also works with Tony" Nat said, trying to put you at ease.   
"Cool, hey kid. How's it going?" he asked you, but before you could answer, he continued talking. "I'm going to go find Tony and try to get him to something on time for once. See you later, Rushman," Happy said to Nat before heading towards the elevators.  
"He seems nice," you said to Nat as you walked up to the front desk.  
"Yeah, he's a real peach," Nat replied before greeting the receptionist and checking you both into the hotel. You collected your key cards, you had the adjoining room to Nat, and headed towards the elevators. 

"Look at us, Natalie and Amelia Rushman, just two sisters on vacation. With your boss, who is Tony Stark. Very normal" you said to Nat as you got into the lift.   
"Well, I did want you to have an ordinary life, so here you go—Mission accomplished," Nat said. You both giggled at the idea of either of you having an ordinary life, or even wanting one. 


	6. Introducing Tony Stark

You had arrived in Monte Carlo in the early morning, and since arriving at the hotel, all you had done was look around in awe. Natasha had told you to unpack your bags, but you had got distracted by the view from your window. The crystal clear sea was directly below you, with the largest boats you had ever seen docked at the harbour. You watched the new yachts arriving, and the different people walking along the pier. Some were clearly tourists, similarly in awe of their surroundings, whilst others had a sense of glamour about them. They fit in so well with the yachts, supercars, and luxury hotels that filled Monte Carlo.   
"Amelia, have you done anything but people watch since you got here?" Nat had walked into your adjoining room to find you stood at the window.   
"Um yeah, I've been boat watching as well" you turned to look at her, and she folded her arms at your response. The annoyed look on her face encouraged you to open the large built-in wardrobe and start unpacking your suitcase. Nat walked over and helped you put your clothes away, but took the black dress you had picked up out of your hands and laid it on your bed. It was one of your favourites that Nat had packed for you. It had long floaty sleeves, a high neckline, with a pleated skirt that came down to your knees.   
"You should wear this one. I have to head down to the hotel bar now to get drinks and press sorted for Tony. I'll see you down there." Nat told you. She had already gotten dressed for this event. She was wearing a pale red dress with a gold belt around her waist, and she had let her hair down.   
"Alright, I'll get dressed now. You look really nice by the way," you told her, and she smiled at your compliment.   
"Do I not always look nice?" she asked you, pretending to be offended.   
"No, you usually look like shit," you told her, keeping a straight face.   
"After all I've done for you, and you still hurt me like this?" Nat said in a low voice as she left the room, but you could see a small grin on her face.   
"Love you" you shouted after her, grinning as you did so. 

You were slightly nervous walking into the bar. It was almost like you were on your first mission, you were undercover after all. You quickly spotted Nat, and a flush of relief swept through you. She was stood next to Tony Stark, talking into his ear whilst they both scanned the room. After taking a deep breath, you set off towards them, trying to remember how you usually walked, but the heels you wore made this harder than it needed to be. Nat had noticed you walking over, giving you a small smile and wink while continuing to converse with Tony.   
"...and there's Mr Hammer, who I believe you already met. When he tries to talk to you this time, please play nice," Nat told Tony as you heard the end of their conversation. Her comment made you laugh, you tried to hide it with a smile, but a small giggle escaped your mouth. This must-have caught Tony's attention, and he turned to look at you, which instantly made you nervous. While you definitely had a look of fear on your face, Tony had one of confusion as he looked back and forth between you and Nat.   
"This is confusing. There's two of you?" Tony said, almost with a hint of sarcasm, and you couldn't help but smile.   
"Mr Stark, this is my sister Amelia. I wanted her to join me on our trip here, you know, for work experience..." Nat began to speak before her train of thought slowed down, Happy was signalling her over to the other side of the room. Nat sighed and continued her sentence. "Please excuse me Stark, Happy seems to think I'm his assistant as well. I'm sure Amelia will be happy to assist you if needs be," she winked at you before walking away. 

You were still smiling, this was really starting to feel like you were on the assignment with Nat, as she said this was work experience. You turned to look at Tony, and he looked back at you. He was shorter than you expected, only a couple of inches taller than yourself, but the way he carried himself made it feel like he towered over you. You continued to stare at each other in silence, and as you looked into his eyes, you could almost see a flicker of fear. What he was afraid of you were not quite sure.  
"You're taller than your sister," Tony said quite matter of fact.  
"Yeah, it annoys Natalie cus I'm younger." You replied, matching his tone. This was true, Nat hated the fact that her daughter was 4 inches taller than her. She was tiny, only 5ft2".   
"Do you like annoying her?" Tony asked you.   
"Sometimes, but I don't push it, or I'll end up with a smack on the head," you said jokingly.   
"Oh yeah, Happy knows all about that. When we first met her, she punched him in the throat," he said with a small laugh.   
"Yeah, that's very in character for her, you do not want to be on her bad side," you warned him.   
"What about you? Are you prone to throat punching strangers?" he asked you with a mix of sarcasm and curiosity.   
"I've thought about it. Quite a lot actually. Am yet to follow through, just waiting for Mr Right," you told Tony, and your smile seemed to be growing larger by the second. However, Tony's smile dropped from his face as he recognised someone behind you. You turned to look at them, and it was the weapons guys you had seen at Tony's testimony, and he was walking over towards the two of you.   
"Allow me to introduce you to your Mr Right, my least favourite person on earth" Tony whispered to you, as the man arrived in front of you.   
"Anthony! It's good to see you, buddy. You're not the only rich guy here with a fancy car," he said laughing, but neither your or Tony joined him.   
"And who is this young lady?" he turned to you and looked you up and down, making you feel incredibly uncomfortable. You frowned at him, and luckily a waiter with a tray of champagne walked passed, and you and Tony both grabbed a glass. You turned back to the man, decided not to reply and took a large sip. He turned his attention back to Tony, slightly offended by you. Which made you happy, you really didn't like him.   
"Okay, Hammer, she is clearly a kid..." Tony started, then turned to look at you, "... actually how old are you?" he asked you.   
"I'm 16," you told him, which you instantly regretted as he snatched the champagne out of your hand.   
"Hey!" you exclaimed slightly pissed off.   
"You're underage, kiddo," Tony said to you. You were in Europe all young people drink, you didn't see the big deal. Hammer cleared his throat, clearly trying to get Tony's attention, as someone else walked over.   
"Have you met Christina from Vanity Fair? She's doing a big story on me which is exciting, huh?" He informed Tony, who seemed unimpressed. Tony greeted the woman.   
"That's good for you Hammer, she's already done quite a nice spread on me, and a pretty good story as well," Tony said winking at the woman, and you couldn't help but laugh knowing what he meant by that. Christina laughed, but quickly pulled out a recorder and began to interview both of them.   
"Good to see you again, Tony. Is the first time the two of you have seen each other since the senate?" she asked both of them.   
"Ah yeah, the first time since he got his contract revoked right?" Tony said, walking away from him. You enjoyed watching Hammer squirm at this comment and followed Tony over to his table.  
"Ah no, no, it's on hold actually," Hammer replied, trying to correct Stark.  
"Tell me, what's the difference between on hold and cancelled?" Tony said, who had become remarkably uninterested in this conversation. Hammer and the journalist followed both of you over to the table. Continuing this little show that they were putting on, which was very entertaining.   
"Yeah what is the difference?" Christina asked Hammer, who now looked uncomfortable trying to dig his way out of the hole he had created.   
"Um, you know what, lets put that away," and he pushed Christina's recorder out of the way, knowing he wasn't going to win this little argument. "I am actually hoping to present something at your expo, Anthony," Hammer said. Tony looked unimpressed.   
"Well, you invent something that works, and you can do that," Tony told him, staring him down, waiting for him to leave. "You can go now," he said. Hammer reluctantly got up and walked over to his own table, and the reporter followed him asking questions. 

"I hate that guy. I was really hoping you'd punch him," Tony said, finishing off your glass of champagne.   
"I really wanted to, I already regret not," you replied and Nat and another woman, who you recognised as Pepper Potts walked over to your table.   
"Oh, you would have regretted it if you had, I would make sure of that," Nat said to you. You faced the table, not wanting to catch her eye, you couldn't quite tell if she meant that and you didn't want to find out.   
"I've changed my mind, you were an excellent choice for Tony's assistant," Pepper told Nat as she sat down next to Tony. She was clearly impressed with her parenting skills.  
"Thank you, Ms Potts. Would you like a drink?" Nat offered. It was weird seeing her act like this, you didn't like it at all.   
"Thank you, Natalie. Yes, I need something strong," Pepper told Nat smiling at her. She turned and walked over to the bar.   
"You must be Amelia, it's lovely to meet you. God, you really do look like your sister." Pepper greeted you. You smiled, you did like it when people said you looked like Nat, it helped you pretend she was your real mom.   
"It's nice to meet you too. Yeah, we get that a lot, it's the red hair" you told her with a small laugh. Pepper had beautiful light auburn hair that was perfectly straight. She smiled at you, and you noticed she had the most beautiful smile, the red lipstick she was wearing gave her teeth a white sparkle that felt contagious as your smile grew slightly wider. You continued your conversation, talking about how beautiful you both thought Monaco was, which had allowed Tony to slip away without either of your realising. That was until he appeared on the TV that was showing coverage of the race. He was announcing that he would be driving his sports car, something he had not done before, something that felt incredibly reckless.   
"Oh my god, I'm going to kill him," Pepper muttered. She called Natalie over, who handed her a drink which she quickly downed.  
"Did you know about this?" Pepper asked Nat.  
"This is the first I'm hearing of it," Nat replied, who also seemed very concerned. "What can I do to help?" she asked Pepper.   
"Get Happy, I need Happy," Pepper told her, staring at the TV. Nat quickly walked away to find him. 

You at Pepper sat at the table, just staring at the TV as the race started. It seemed to be going okay, you weren't quite sure as you knew very little about formula one racing. Just as you began to think he might be okay, one of the crew members walked into the middle of the track. Pepper grabbed your arm, and you could feel her pulse racing. The man removed his helmet and tossed it on the ground. He pulled out what looked like two whips into each hand, and they started to spark. Quickly his boiler suit burned away, revealing a harness of some sort, with a what looked like Tony's arc reactor sat in the middle on his chest. Electricity cackled as his harness and whips lit up. He hit the first car, it was thrown up in the air as his weapon cut clean through the front of the sports car. You saw Happy stood in the doorway, you nudged Pepper, and she quickly turned her had to see him holding a large, red, strange-looking briefcase. She shot up and ran over to him. Leaving you sat at the table, your heart pounding. Tony's car came speeding around the corner, and your palms started to sweat as you knew what was about to happen. Tony fell to the same fate as the driver before him, his car being thrown up in the air, and you weren't sure he was going to able to get out of the now flipped vehicle. 


	7. Something's Wrong with Stark

Time felt as if it stood still as you watched, and waited, for Tony to crawl out of the flipped car. You could hear your heartbeat in your ears as the room had fallen silent. Suddenly there was a loud crash as a few of the other sports cars had sped around the corner and attempted to stop to avoid the man who was slowly walking towards Tony's car. The room collectively gasped as he struck the vehicle again, luckily Tony managed to break free and attempted to hit the man on the back of the head. The strange whip-like weapons struck him down, unsure if he would manage to make it out of this one. That was until Happy's car suddenly appeared and drove into the assailant, and you sighed with relief. Natasha had snuck behind you during the chaos and put her hands on your shoulders, which calmed you further. She leant down and whispered in your ear,  
"He'll be okay. Happy has a suit for him," and you realised the strange-looking briefcase must have been an Iron Man suit.   
"It's a shame you can't help him out," you whispered back, understanding she couldn't break her cover just yet.   
"I'm struggling just watching their pathetic fight," Nat said jokingly as she sat down next you. You grabbed her hand as you watched Tony suit-up, it was quite the spectacle, watching his armour wrap around him, and he did look incredibly cool. The fight was quickly over, but the man with the whips just laughed as law enforcement dragged him away, shouting something proving Tony Stark was no longer invincible. 

Nat placed her hand on your cheek and turned your head to look at her,   
"He's gonna be okay kiddo, it's tricky when they surprise you," Nat said reassuringly, sensing you were still worried.   
"As I recall you let a 13-year-old take you down once, is your excuse that you were surprised?" you said, her hand still holding your face. Nat smiled at you, also recalling when you first met.   
"You didn't take me down thank you. Just temporarily pushed me to the floor, and I quickly put you in your place," Nat said, her hand leaving your cheek as she stroked your hair. You chuckled at the recollection of that night, decided not to respond and just enjoy Nat's company. It was moments like this you felt loved, moments that you never experienced before. As she pulled you in for a hug, you pondered if your biological mother had ever shown this kind of affection towards you. You don't know why you thought she might have, the only time she ever touched your hair was with disgust as she told you off for not brushing it. Nat, however, loved to brush your hair for you. You would sit on the floor, Nat on your bed, and she would comb your hair while she quizzed you on different assignment scenarios. The first half of that you assumed was completely normal, the second, however, well, you can't imagine many mother-daughter relationships included planning how to effectively sneak into a high-security building. 

* * *

* * *

The flight back to New York felt significantly longer, thanks to the fact you couldn't get to sleep. Every time you closed your eyes, all you could picture was that Vanko man, and the fear you saw on Tony's face. You lay on the flatbed, just waiting to get home. When you finally did, neither you nor Nat spoke a word, you hadn't found much to say since Tony had told you to go home. You had a brief conversation with Nat when you packed up your suitcases, she told you why she had been placed with Tony, and why she was undercover, unlike Colson. Tony Stark was dying, the arc reactor in his chest was slowly poisoning him. She was simply told to keep an eye on him, in hopes that he might find a cure for himself. The fear that you saw in his eyes when you first met him made sense, he knew he was dying, and he didn't know how to save himself. 

You greeted Mark, the doorman, but didn't feel like having a conversation, so told him you were tired and jetlagged. Being the nice man he was, he told you to go get some rest, and you could tell him all about your trip when you felt better. The two of you walked into your apartment, only to find Nick Fury making a sandwich in your kitchen.   
"I understand you had a very eventful trip," Nick said, not turning to talk to either of you but continuing to make his sandwich. Your stomach growled with jealousy, and you walked over to the counter and joined him.   
"More eventful than expected, I just wanted a nice holiday," you told him as you buttered your bread.   
"A nice vacation is hard to come by in this line of work. How is he, Natasha?" Nick turned towards Nat, and you both waited for her response.   
"Stark isn't doing too great. I don't think he plans on finding a cure," Nat informed Nick. This was probably true, the fact he decided to compete in the race might be evidence of this.   
"Well then, I suppose I ought to make a visit to Mr Stark," Nick said, finishing off his sandwich and walking towards the front door. He stopped, looked at you, then back to Natasha, "Bring the little one along with you," and with that, he walked out the door. 

  
"Has he noticed that I am taller than you?" you said to Nat, slightly annoyed that Nick called you little.   
"That's your take away from that?" Nat asked you. It wasn't, but you wanted to play it cool, more professional.   
"Yes, yes it is," you said sarcastically before taking a bite of your sandwich. Nat rolled her eyes, walked over to you, and stole the other half.   
"Hey!" you exclaimed.   
"No time to eat, we have to go back to the airport," Nat explained, you sighed at the thought of more travelling.   
"I could've taken it with me, sandwiches are famously a portable food," you told her, before grabbing two bags out of the store cupboard. You had your own go-bag ready for over a year now, just in case. You smiled at her and said "come on now, we haven't got all day" with sarcasm.   
"Do you think you're in charge all of a sudden?" Nat questioned.   
"No, just taking the initiative," you replied, trying to push her buttons.   
"That's cute, but you have to do the washing up before we can go," Nat said, smiling at you.   
"I hate you," you said as you pushed passed her to collect the plates. 

* * *

After you completed your chores, you had sped back to the airport and caught a last-minute flight to Miami. Nat had left you at the hotel, which was nowhere near as impressive as the previous one you had stayed in. Tony was having a birthday party tonight, you wanted to go, but apparently, it was 'no place for a 16-year-old.' So you sat in your hotel room, reading a book about Norse mythology, a topic that interested you greatly. You were fascinated by old gods and myths that ancient civilisations once believed in. Far more interesting than present-day gods. You had just started the chapter about the mischievous shapeshifter Loki when you were rudely interrupted by the deafening sound of a helicopter landing outside your window. You through the book on your bed and wandered over to your window, knowing who you would find in the helicopter. Your assumptions were correct as Nick Fury hung out of the aircraft waving at you to join him. Luckily you were on the ground floor and had decided against getting into your pyjamas, so you opened up the window and jumped out, before running over to Nick and climbing into the helicopter. 

  
"We could use your help with something, you up for that?" Nick asked you as you buckled your seatbelt. 

  
"I was rather enjoying my book, but sure, if you need me so desperately I guess I could help you out," you said, trying to hide your smile and excitement. You were becoming a SHIELD agent, you could feel it. 


	8. Chapter 8

Nick had informed you that Tony had drunk a little too much during his birthday party and decided to show off his Iron Man suit to his party goers. Prompting his friend Rhodey, who worked for the U.S. army no less, to try and restrain him, which apparently didn't go particularly well. He had let Rhodey fly off with one of his suits; he was getting his affairs in order, preparing to die. Nat had tracked Tony down to a doughnut shop, sat on the roof, more specifically, sat in a doughnut on the roof. She was back in her catsuit and had cleared the cafe of any customers and staff. It was your turn to go "undercover" a waitress, under the assumption Tony would be too hungover to recognise you. 

"This uniform is kinda cute. I like the skirt," you said to Nat, as you walked into the cafe from the breakroom. You were dressed in a knee-length red pencil skirt, a mustard yellow polo shirt tucked in, with a name tag that wasn't yours. "Although I still think I'd look better in something like that," you said, pointing at what Nat was wearing. The black catsuit, boots, and holster made her look like serious business, while you looked like an extra in her movie.  
"A waitress wouldn't wear this," Nat told you, dismissing your request for your own 'spy suit', as you called it.   
"We good to go? I think it's time I had a word with our friend Tony Stark," Nick said, walking out of the cafe. You popped behind the counter, while Nat walked round to the backroom. 

"Can I get you some coffee? You look like you need it Stark," Nick asked Tony as he led him into the cafe and sat down in one of the booths by the window. The seats matched the colour of your polo shirt, with cheap metal tables between the booths' sofas. Several smaller metal tables were dotted around the rest of the dining area, with matching red chairs, like the stools at the counter. You hadn't heard Tony's reply to Nick, as you were trying not to look over at them too much, but you did hear Nick when he asked you to bring over two black coffees. You nodded in response and walked over to the counter where the coffee pots were kept. Thank god they had already been made because you had no idea how to make filter coffee. You picked up the pot marked regular, along with two plain white mugs and walked over to their table. You placed one cup in front of each of them and poured them their coffee, trying not to look at Tony to avoid him recognising you.   
"Sugar and sweeteners on the table," you told them as you finished pouring Tony's coffee. He turned and looked at you as you spoke, and frowned slightly as he examined your face, causing you to quickly turn away and walk back over to the counter. 

Nick continued their conversation, but you couldn't quite hear what they were saying. Nat then walked out of the backroom and over to the table, and you turned to face Tony, not wanting to miss the look on his face. A small laugh escaped your mouth as the look of confusion crossed Tony's face, luckily he didn't hear you.   
"You're... you're fired," Tony told Nat, and Nick laughed at him.   
"That's not up to you I'm afraid," Nat responded, sitting down next to Nick who introduced her to Tony. She explained to Tony why she had been assigned to him and that they knew he was dying. She then surprised him with an injection of some weird chemical Nat hadn't bothered to explain to you. It was something that would slow down the poison that Tony's arc reactor was releasing, giving him a bit more time to find a cure.   
"I've tried okay. There's no replacement for this. There's no cure," Tony said to Nick, as he signalled you over to clear the mugs and strange-looking syringe.   
"And I'm here to tell you, you haven't tried everything," Nick replied to Tony, as you were clearing the table.  
"What..?" Tony began to question before he looked at you, "you've got to be kidding me, the little one as well?" Tony asked Nick with surprise.   
"When are people going to realise I'm not small?" you said starting to get annoyed at the number of people calling you little. Nat laughed and led you back to counter, leaving Nick and Tony alone at the table. 

* * *

* * *

* * *

  
Natasha's POV. 

  
After dropping Amelia back at the hotel, you headed back to Stark Industries to remain undercover as Tony/Pepper's assistant. You had enjoyed bringing Amelia with you to work, you always missed her when you had to away on assignment. Part of you was sceptical of allowing her to get involved with all of this, but you could tell she loved it just as much as you did. Nick had asked you a month ago if you thought Amelia was ready to start working for SHIELD and you had informed him she definitely was. In fact, she was extremely intelligent, her high school was letting her graduate this year even though she was only 16. However, you had taught her the most useful skills, making her perfectly equipt to become an agent. You shook your head thinking about your parenting skills, you didn't know how to take care of a child, so you just trained her instead, which did make you laugh a little. But no one around you had questioned how you raised Amelia. Clint was incredibly supportive, and an excellent baby sitter when you needed one, as well as Maria. Maria. Just the thought of her made your stomach fill with butterflies and your mouth to curve into a smile. Amelia had quizzed you about Maria, she definitely suspected that you liked her more than most people. She was correct, but you never acted on your feelings. Something was holding you back, it felt like fear. After what happened with Anna, you didn't want to open yourself up to someone else, you didn't want to get hurt again. 

You were glad to arrive back at work as it allowed you to push these thoughts out of your mind. Walking into the office, you were greeted by Pepper.   
"Oh there you are, I could use your help with something. I'm trying to get Tony's suit back from Rhodey," Pepper told you, and you walked to her office together. She continued to talk about her latest efforts to fix another one of Tony's mistakes. You listened, asked her what she needed you to do, then left her as she walked into her office. Being an assistant was incredibly dull, even when working for Iron Man.

Later that day, you headed to New York to attend Hammer's presentation at the expo with Pepper. Amelia was heading home on a commercial flight on her own as Nick and Colson had something new to deal with in New Mexico. You and Pepper sat next to each other at the event and watched Hammer presenting his new drones, and then his Iron Man Suit which was being piloted by Rhodey. You could feel Pepper getting angry next to you, and you could understand why, Hammer was the most unlikable person you had ever met. 

* * *

* * *

* * *

  
Amelia's POV. 

  
You had been told by Nat to go straight back home after landing, which you did, after stopping for takeout food from the local Chinese restaurant. You ate the large amount of food you had ordered while watching the slimy Hammer guy present at Tony's expo. Everything about him made your skin crawl, the way he walked, the way he talked, his cocky attitude, all of it. You cheered when Tony flew in wearing his Iron Man suit, despite the fact you were alone. Your joy, however, was short-lived when the drones, and Rhodey, started attacking Iron Man. You watched in shock and fear as you remembered Nat was there with Pepper. Of course, they would be okay, Nat knew what she was doing, but the worry took over you. Your heart was beating faster and faster as you heard the audience screaming. The cameras focused on the fight between the rogue suits and Tony, but you wanted to see Nat and see that she was okay. 

You were shocked and scared by the sound of your front door being forcefully opened. You whipped around but sighed with relief when you saw Clint stood in the doorway, with a stupid grin on his face.   
"Jesus Christ, Clint! You scared the shit out of me, don't do that," you almost yelled at him, turning back to face the TV. Clint laughed and walked over to join you on the sofa.   
"Sorry, kiddo, I couldn't help myself. What a mess huh, good thing Nat's there she'll straighten them out," Clint said when he saw what was playing on your TV. You knew he was right, and your heartbeat calmed.   
"Yeah, she'll have them back in line in no time," you responded, but your eyes were still glued to the screen.   
"Anyway, that's not what I'm here for. You've got a mission kid," Clint said you. Not quite sure you heard him correctly, you turned to look at him,   
"What are you talking about?" you questioned him.  
"Nick wants you to join me on my next assignment. I can't say it will be anything exciting, but it's a start, I suppose," he replied, and you were simply in shock at the words coming out of his mouth.   
"Are you messing with me?" you asked him, refusing to believe him.   
"No, that's not exactly a funny joke is it," he said, starting to get annoyed at you.   
"Well, most of your jokes aren't funny, so it's hard to distinguish," deciding you wanted to mess with him instead. Clint was funny, in a way that Dad's are funny. When he made a stupid joke or pun, you would roll your eyes most of the time, but occasionally he made you chuckle as well.   
"That's just mean," he said to you, pretending to be offended. "But do you want to join this assignment or not? There's plenty of other agents I'd rather go with," Clint said with sarcasm. You smiled when he called you an agent.   
"Hell yeah. Sounds way better than school."


	9. Chapter 9

Natasha's POV 

Happy was driving you back home from Hammer's factory, after successfully infiltrating and disabling Rhodey's suit and the drones. You could tell Happy had quite a few questions for you, as he kept looking over at you, but you didn't feel like talking.   
"So that was fun, huh?" Happy said to you, breaking the peaceful silence.   
"We don't have to talk Happy. I will gladly get out and walk home," you told him, trying not to be too harsh.   
"Fair enough," he said with a sigh. It had been a long, eventful day. Not to say it wasn't exciting, indeed more interesting than the past few months. But all you wanted to do was go home and spend some time with Amelia. 

Happy dropped you off outside your apartment, you thanked him, and he asked if you'd be back in work anytime soon. You chuckled and told him that wouldn't be likely. You were greeted by Dave at the door, who informed you that Clint was here, which was a bit of a surprise, but you were glad he was there to check in on Amelia. You could hear laughter as you approached the door, coming home to a joyful home made you smile. Just what you needed. 

"NAT!!!!" Amelia shouted, very happy to see you. You were taken aback slightly at her excitement.   
"AMELIA!" you shouted back, with a slight tone of confusion as you didn't know why she was in that good of a mood.   
"I have a mission! Did you know? Clint just told me! It's so exciting I can't wait, this is literally the best day of my life," Amelia said, speaking a million miles per hour.   
"Okay, chill out a little. Colson did mention something, but I didn't know it was official," you said, her smile still spread across her face. Amelia's excitement was contagious, and you turned to look at Clint, who was smiling with her. "I have a present for you, I've been waiting for this very moment," you said, looking back at Amelia. You had known that this was going to happen soon, so you were prepared and got her a brand new kit bag.   
"OMG Nat you didn't have to," Amelia told you as you walked over to the locked cupboard behind the sofa. This was where you kept most of your weapons, and it was the only part of the apartment Amelia didn't have access to.   
"I couldn't not, you deserve it," you said to her as you pulled wrapped present out of the cupboard and handed her the gift. As you watched her unwrap it and thank you several times while excitedly inspecting every item in the bag, you couldn't help but feel incredibly proud of her. You had a massive smile on your face as Amelia pulled you in for a hug, thanking you one more time.   
"I'm so proud of you, Amelia. You'll be great I just know it," you whispered in her ear as she hugged you. 

* * *

* * *

* * *

  
Amelia's POV

Nat had given you the coolest present ever. A new kit bag, with all your own guns, knives, and 'spider bites', a small bracelet that gave attackers an electric shock. But the best present she had given you was expressing her pride. This adorable moment was rudely interrupted by Clint, clearing his throat to get your attention.   
"I hate to ruin the moment, but we do have to go now," Clint told the both of you.   
"Oh, right now?" you said slightly surprised, but excited nonetheless.   
"Afraid so kiddo, let's get this show on the road!" Clint said, clapping his hands together to encourage you to get going.   
"Okay, okay, I'm coming," you said, slightly annoyed at him. "Wish me luck," you turned to Nat. She smiled at you and placed her hands on your cheeks.   
"You don't need luck, you'll be just fine on your own. Love you lots, and stay safe okay," she told you before pulling you in for one last hug. You could feel Clint rolling his eyes behind you, so you pulled away and picked up your bags. It felt strange to be leaving on a mission and leaving Nat behind, it was always the other way around. As you walked to the door, Clint opening it for you, you turned to look back at Nat.  
"I love you, Mom," you told her, and you walked out of the apartment.

* * *

  
You and Clint got on a flight to New Mexico, before a long drive to what felt like the middle of nowhere.   
"Would you like to explain what this mission actually is? Or are you just driving me out here to kill me, because there are easier ways of doing that you know," you said to Clint, bored of the silence the whole car journey had been in.   
"Oh, trust me, I know," Clint sighed. You jokingly smacked him on the arm at his sarky comment. "Colson's called us in. He's found something a bit odd in the middle of the desert, and no one knows how it got there," Clint finally explained.   
"What is this odd object?" you asked, not satisfied with his level of detail.   
"A hammer, and really heavy hammer," Clint said with seemingly unbothered by this whole ordeal. You almost agreed with him.   
"All this fuss over a teleporting hammer?" you asked.   
"Yeah, the science nerds said something about it causing something. I don't know I didn't really pay attention," Clint said, still very unbothered. You laughed a little, you quite liked his attitude to all of this. The car fell back into silence, but you shortly arrived at what you assumed to be the crash site of this heavy hammer. They certainly were making an enormous fuss over it, they had built a whole camp around it. Clint parked up next to several other jeeps, and both of you climbed out. You spotted agent Colson walking over to you. 

"Barton, Romanoff. You finally made it, we were starting to think you got lost," Colson said to the pair of you, not impressed with your tardiness. It was strange someone calling you Romanoff.   
"Ha, Romanoff is my mother, please call me Amelia," you said with sarcasm, trying to make a joke and ease the tension a little. Colson didn't laugh, he didn't even crack a smile. However, Clint tried his best to hide his laughter, but it managed to escape in a noise that sounded like a snort. This, in turn, made you laugh, stood there trying your best to keep the laughter in, you felt like a pair of naughty school kids being told off by the headmaster.   
"Sorry Colson, the call was a little last minute to be fair," Clint said once the laughter had subsided. You were still trying to hide your smile, your first assignment was going well.   
"Well you are here now, I suppose. Follow me," Colson said before turning to walk over to the camp. You and Clint quickly followed.   
"We still don't know what the unidentified object is, but we have a team here examining it. That you don't need to concern yourself with, you are here simply for protection," Colson said, walking through the camp. It was hectic, agents sat at computers screens, others walking with purpose and a flustered look down the tunnels. It was clear no one really knew what was going on, something SHIELD definitely didn't like.

  
"I would have thought you were capable of look after yourself Colson," Clint said, unimpressed with the reason you had been called all the way out here.   
"You're not here to protect me, or the other agents. But to protect this," Colson said as you arrived at the centre of the maze-like camp. Sat in the middle of all this, with agents guarding it at all angles, was a large metal hammer. It looked strangely familiar like you had seen it before somewhere, you shook the idea out of your head. If no one else here knew what it was, it was doubtful you would. The hammer stook out of a large rock in the middle of a crater, it must have been formed when it landed.   
"It really is a hammer," Clint said slightly surprised.  
"Yeah, but there's something off about this particular hammer. We are concerned someone might come looking for it," Colson said, you were all still stood in front of it, almost mesmerised by the sight.   
"Can't you move it someplace safer?" you asked Colson, thinking there must be a reason they had set up here rather than taking back to one of many SHIELD bases.   
"It's stuck, no one can get it out. Not even a crane," Colson said, clearly intrigued by this fact.   
"Huh, it's kinda like Excalibur," you said. Both Clint and Colson turned to you with a questioning look.   
"Excalibur? You know the sword in the stone story?" you said confused by the fact they didn't know what you were talking about. They still didn't seem clued in.   
"How do you not...? King Arthur?" you said, getting more concerned for their level of education. "Do you two ever read anything? It's a very famous story," getting slightly annoyed at them.   
"I haven't read anything for maybe 10 years kiddo, you're gonna have to explain yourself a little more," Clint said to you.  
"Jesus. King Arthur pulled a sword out of stone that appeared out of nowhere, after a bunch of people tried but couldn't do it. And then wizard dude Merlin came along and was like, hey that's Excalibur, only the true king of England can do that, and that's how he got the throne," you explained to them.   
"Huh, nice. Cool story kid," Clint said before the both started to walk away.   
"You've seriously never heard of that story before?" you questioned them whilst chasing after them.   
"No. I don't know what to tell you, we can't all be big mythology dorks like you," Clint said, walking in front of you.   
"Hey, I'm not..." you started, before realising he was right. You were a bit of a dork for that sort of thing. Clint smiled at you and patted you on the back.   
"It's okay kid. Come on, we got to be on high alert," Clint said, almost joking. He still wasn't pleased with the assignment. You thought it was exciting none the less, and you wondered if a King Arthur might turn up and pull the hammer out of the stone. 


	10. Chapter 10

You were bored, no other way of describing it. You had been unbelievably excited for your first assignment, to end up sitting in a weird tent with Clint waiting for something interesting to happen. You were stuck in a SHIELD camp, filled with agents sat at computer screens, figuring out what the strange hammer was, how it got there, and why. You had walked the perimeter a couple of times with Clint, almost hoping to find someone trying to break in or some suspicious activity at the least. But, nothing. So the two of you were left wondering about tubes and tents that made up the maze, often stopping to look at the hammer in the middle. Colson had left at some point. Apparently, a couple of physicists are also investigating the weird shit this hammer has been causing. One of the scientists said something atmosphere and levels, but you didn't really understand, but you didn't need to. Colson and his team had returned with a bunch of stuff that they had "confiscated" from them. You kinda felt bad for them, all there work being taken away like that, it really must suck. 

Clint had let you go off for a quick nap, as nothing was happening. SHIELD at least had a small break room, mostly used for making coffee and toast, but it did have a sofa. You didn't realise how tired you were until your head hit the cushion and you were quickly asleep. That was until a loud crash of thunder and lighting rudely woke you up. You knew you wouldn't be able to sleep now, so you walked back to the main "office" to find Clint. You were greeted by a room in a slight panic, as the alarms were triggered.   
"We have a perimeter breach," one of the agents informed you. This shouldn't have made you excited, this was serious stuff, but you couldn't help but smile a little—finally, something to do. Several security officers left swiftly walked out into the tunnels in an attempt to stop the perp. You and Clint were told to kit up, Clint was to get up high and watch the hammer, whilst you were to take the guy down, so he didn't get there. You holstered one of your guns on your left hip, put a couple of knives in a holster on the outside of your right thigh, and two spider bite bracelets on each wrist. You and Clint headed towards the centre where the hammer was, he went up high whist you stayed on the ground. You could hear the guy taking down the other agents, which made you slightly nervous, but only slightly. 

You hid round the corner of the entrance to the maze, where the perp was coming from, as you heard his heavy footsteps walk towards you. The stomping told you the guy was definitely big. As he got closer to you, you closed your eyes, took a deep breath, and went for it. You grabbed onto the pole next to you, used it to swing around and hit the perp square in the chest with a forceful kick, sending him to the ground. He looked up at you and smiled.  
"You're strong for someone so little," the man said. The little comment pissed you off, and as he was standing back up, you kicked him in the face, sending his straight back down again.  
"Don't call me little. I'm above average height!" you exclaimed as you stood over the man. The smile was now gone from his face, replaced with frustration. He quickly jumped up and punched you right in the face, which fucking hurt. But, you didn't have time to worry about your nose, you couldn't let him land another punch. You hit him back, in the face, then the abdomen, pushing him backwards, away from the hammer. You then smacked your wrist against his neck, sending a shock of electricity through his body. This caused him to fall back; unfortunately, he managed to grab ahold of your wrist and pull you with him.

Together, you fell through the back of the tent, out onto the ground. The ground that was now muddy, thanks to the heavy rain. You quickly rolled off of him, and as he turned onto his side to attempt to get up, you got him in a chokehold from behind. He was grabbing onto your arm, trying to pull it away but he couldn't manage it, even with the enormous muscles he had. Which were very impressive, but clearly not very useful. You thought you had won this fight, and that cockiness was probably the reason you didn't notice his hand let go of your arm before he elbowed you in the stomach. Pain shot through your abdomen as you fell onto your back, as you did so, the man elbowed you once more, causing you to cry out with pain. The man stood over you slightly out of breath. The look on his face was as if to warn you not to get back up again, but Nat didn't raise a quitter. You breathed through the pain as you stood back up again, ready to continue your fight. You swung towards him, but he jumped up and kicked you with both feet in the same spot he had just hit you. The force of his kick pushed you onto your back, and you hugged your stomach to try to comfort yourself.

"Ow," you groaned as you lay on the ground defeated. The man walked over you, and you looked up at his face. His long blonde hair was now covered in mud, and he had a small cut on his eyebrow from when you had hit him.  
"You fought well for a kid," he said to you out of breath, genuinely impressed by you.   
"Thanks, I guess," you replied, slightly struggling for breath as your abdomen was in a lot of pain. You let him walk away, he was Clint's problem now. You lay in the mud and waited for the pain to subside, before getting up and walking back over to the tent. You wanted to see if the man could get the hammer out. You climbed through the hole in the tend and stumbled to the platform that stood next to the hammer. You gripped onto the railing as you watched the man place his hands on the handle. It seemed Clint also wanted to see if he would succeed, as you looked up to find his arrow drawn, but he was yet to fire it. Time seemed to slow down, as you all watched and waited. The man gripped on tightly, his muscles flexing as he tried to pull the hammer out, grunting as he did so. He planted his feet and changed his grip and tried again, but to no avail. Realising he couldn't do it, he dropped to his knees, let his arms out to his side, looked up at the sky and cried out in frustration. You swore you could see sadness on his face as he looked to the ground, sat down in defeat. The giant man suddenly seemed so small as he knelt in front of the hammer, head hanging with shame as everything fell silent. This was interrupted by Colson sending in two agents to arrest him, an easy task as he was no longer fighting back. They pulled him up and led him towards the two small cells that Colson had set up, it seems he was correct in thinking someone would attempt to steal the object. As he walked passed you, still gripping onto the railing, he looked up at you with a look of sorrow in his eyes. If he hadn't just beat the shit out you, you might have felt sorry for him. 

You had quickly gotten changed out of your damp, muddy clothes, putting on a pair of clean, dry black trousers and a dark-green long-sleeved top. After tying your wet hair in a ponytail and cleaning mud off your face, you walked out of the bathroom trailer over to the main camp. Once inside, you wondered over to the cell, joining Clint and another agent who were watching Colson interrogate the suspect. The man sat there in silence as Colson asked him questions, just looking straight at the floor. Colson assumed he was an agent of some sort and asked him where he trained, listing off different countries.   
"Who are you?" Colson asked the man, starting to get frustrated with his lack of response. The man looked up at him but still refused to answer.   
"Excuse me for a moment. Don't go anywhere," Colson said, before exiting the cell. Colson, Clint, and the other agent walked away, discussing something, but you remained focused on the man in the cell.

Then, out of nowhere, a second man appeared, one you didn't recognise, the blonde man called him Loki, which sparked your interest. He was dressed in a forest green suit with a matching coat and grey checkered scarf. He had jet black hair swept back out of his face, showing off his sharp bone structure, pale skin, and green eyes. Looking at the mysterious man, for a moment, you thought you felt butterflies in your stomach. You told yourself it must be residual pain from the fight you had earlier and focused on the conversation the two men were having. It appeared that the dark-haired man was the blonde one's brother, and he had come to inform him that their father had died and he must remain in exile. It was a very dramatic scene, one you didn't quite understand as they spoke of things you had never heard of before, but you did understand it was a painful moment. As Loki said goodbye to his brother, you were distracted by Colson and the other agent returning. Colson, looking down at his phone didn't notice the second man before leaving just as suddenly as he arrived, and returned to interrogating the suspect. 

You wondered out of the office, confused by what you had just seen, but something told you to walk towards the hammer. As you arrived, you found more agents than before surrounding the hammer and a group of scientists running tests on it. But none of them seemed to notice Loki, who now stood in front of it. You walked towards him, watching him closely as he attempted to lift it, and failed just like everyone before him. 

  
"Your brother tried that as well, didn't go so well for him," you said to him as he let go of the handle. He looked up at you and seemed surprised that you could see him.   
"No, it didn't. He doesn't seem to be taking it very well, my brother's not used to failure," Loki replied, walking towards you, not stopping until he was directly in front of you. He was tall, forcing you to turn your head up to be able to look him in the eye.   
"Poor thing," you said with sarcasm, still looking up at his face, the butterflies returning. He didn't respond, just kept looking at you like he was trying to read your mind. Something about him made you feel nervous, you didn't like this feeling. You cleared your throat and broke eye contact and looked around at the agents, who still weren't paying attention to Loki, or you.   
"I don't know why you're here, but I would recommend you get going before you join your friend in there," you said to Loki, looking back at his face. He laughed slightly, knowing the agents didn't even know he was there.  
"Don't worry sweetheart, I was just on my way out," he whispered before turning away.   
"Wait!" you exclaimed, knowing this was your chance to get some more information. "Who is he? Why is he here?" you asked Loki.   
"Well, you already know he's my brother, do you really need more?" he said almost as if he was getting annoyed at you. You didn't respond, just glared at him. He sighed. "His name is Thor, our father banished him here because he's an idiot that started a war," he eventually told you, with a frustrated smile.   
"Seems like he'd be useful in a war, why banish him?" you asked, trying to push him further.   
"As much as I am enjoying our conversation, I'm afraid I must head-on. I have a family reunion to attend to," Loki told you, and before you could argue, he was gone. 


	11. Chapter 11

As Loki disappeared in front of your eyes, you heard Clint’s voice behind you.  
“What are you doing?” Clint asked you, obviously confused because you were now stood in the middle of the crater staring into empty space.  
“Just thinking,” you replied, turning to face him. His eyebrows furrowed as he gave you a questioning look. You stared back at him, almost smiling, waiting for him to respond. It appeared as if Clint decided he no longer cared what you were doing, his eyebrows relaxed, and he started grinning at you. Great, he’s gonna make a joke.  
“Thinking about the fight you lost?” he said, trying to wind you up. You rolled your eyes and walked up the small staircase to join him on the platform.   
"No, thinking about how you did literally nothing to help. Did you enjoy your day off?" you shot back at him. You raised your eyebrows at him, encouraging him to respond.   
"I did actually, I got to watch a pretty pathetic fight. They were just rolling around in the mud for half of it, not very effective," Clint said, joining in on the joke. You laughed a little.

"You did good kid," Clint said to you, not joking this time.   
"Good? I think I did a little better than good. The guy was twice my size!" you exclaimed, thinking you deserved a little more praise for your actions.   
"Alright, no need to get cocky. You still lost," Clint said as he put his hand on your shoulder and led you back into the office. You pushed his hand off you,   
"No need to rub it in," you whined, walking next to him. 

As you walked back inside, you found the cell empty, and a frustrated Colson stood in front of you.   
"What happened to the big guy?" Clint questioned Colson, which you were grateful for as you were also very confused.   
"Some physicist showed up, said he was a colleague of his," Colson said, not believing the words he said.   
"And you just let him go?" you asked him, slightly annoyed. What was the point in you trying to stop him, and getting some nasty bruises in the process, if they were just going to let him leave?  
"We weren't getting anywhere with interrogation. I want you two to follow them, figure out who they really are," Colson told you and Clint. You thought about telling him about Loki, but you figured you would sound insane, so held your tongue. You could use the information you had got from Loki and figure out what was going on.   
"Alright. Let's get going kiddo," Clint said. The pair of you walked out of the office and got back in your jeep. You could manage to see the lights of Thor and the physicist's car, so you followed them into a small town that resided nearby. 

You followed their van to the parking lot of a bar, you parked on the opposite side of the lot, trying not to draw attention to yourselves. As Thor got out of the car, you could fully take in how big he really was. Not only was he tall, probably over 6ft2, but he was well built; his broad shoulders supported enormous muscles all down his arms, which flexed slightly as he slammed the car door shut. It was a beautiful sight if you were honest, you didn't find him attractive per se, but you couldn't deny he was a gorgeous man. You were snapped out of your gaze as Clint cleared his throat to get your attention, he knew exactly what you were staring at. You felt the heat rise to your face as you felt slightly embarrassed to be caught checking a guy out, by Clint no less.   
"If you are quite finished, we should probably follow them in," Clint said, grinning at you. As he spoke, the embarrassment worsened, and your face went entirely red.   
"I wasn't..." you started, but it was probably best not to argue with him, "... yeah, let's head on in," you agreed, unbuckling your seatbelt. You climbed out of the car and followed Clint to the entrance of the bar. Luckily, there were no bouncers, being underage, that could've been an issue. 

As you entered, you were hit with the stench of stale beer and B.O., which almost made you gag. The room was filled with middle-aged men, with one large group of young people stood around a pool table. You noticed Thor and his companion sat at the bar, they were talking, but you couldn't hear what they were saying thanks to the obnoxious laughter of the people playing pool. Clint started walking over to an empty booth on the other side of the room, and you quickly followed. You sat down across from Clint, facing away from the bar. The seat's red leather fabric was ripped open, with the stuffing peaking out, and both the table and floor were sticky. This was not the nicest place you had ever been to, but you couldn't complain. A waitress walked over to the pair of you and took your order; Clint ordered for you, a glass of coke was all you were allowed, while he got a beer. 

While you waited for your drinks, you sat in silence, Clint staring at the men at the bar. Your mind wandered to the conversation you had witnessed earlier. You remembered that Loki said he had taken the thrown, that he informed you that his brother's name was Thor, who the hammer once belonged to. You laughed at the thought that just popped into your head, Loki and Thor, like the books you had read, they couldn't be real, they were just stories. Your small laugh got the attention of Clint, who was confused by your sudden amusement. 

"What's funny?" Clint asked you. You paused for a moment, not sure how to explain yourself.  
"I'm assuming, based on the fact you didn't know the King Arthur story, you don't know much about Norse mythology or legends?" you said hesitantly.   
"You assume correct," Clint responded, leaning forward as you gained his interest.   
"Well, there are various tales about deities, heroes, gods, that sort of thing. Um, and one of their gods includes the hammer-wielding, god of thunder, called Thor. And all this stuff, the hammer no one can lift that appeared out of nowhere, the strange atmospheric readings its causing, that dude showing up..." you said to Clint, struggling to make eye contact with him.   
"You think... that the guy sat over there, is Thor, a god?" Clint asked you.  
"I don't know, maybe? I know it sounds stupid, but it kinda makes sense, weirdly," you said to him, shrugging your shoulders.   
"Kinda. It's not the weirdest thing I've ever heard," Clint replied, and you were surprised he didn't think you were crazy. Although, you hadn't told him about seeing Loki appear, and then disappear, which was the part of this story that convinced you the most. 

"That's not even the weirdest part..." you said to Clint, forcing a small awkward laugh at the end of your sentence. Clint looked at you, eyes furrowed, waiting for you to continue.   
"When Colson left the cell, just for a bit, a man appeared. No idea how he got in there, but he was there," you continued, finding the words you were saying almost comical.   
"He said something about their father dying, so I guess the man, Loki he called himself, is Thor's brother. Um, Loki said somethings about banishment and war, so I guess that's why he's here. I also think his banishment is why he can't wield the hammer anymore?" you continued, pausing to gage Clint's opinion on what you were saying. He stayed silent, most likely trying to wrap his head around all this nonsense.   
"Then he left, just before Colson came back. But, I don't know why, but I walked out to the hammer, and I found him, Loki, standing in front of it. He tried to lift it but didn't manage it. It was strange, he stood there in the middle, surrounded by guards and scientists, and no one seemed to see him. And he was certainly surprised that I could see him when I asked him who he was," you kept going. The image of Loki towering over you returned, as well as the butterflies in your stomach. You tried to get his face out of your head, but the more you wanted it gone, the more apparent it seemed to become.  
"Um... and uh... he told me that Thor had started a war and that he was an idiot. But he didn't seem keen to converse with me, and he just vanished,"  
You finished off, finally shaking Loki out of your mind as you looked at Clint, waiting for his response.

"Oh, okay. So that's why you were just stood in the crater staring into space," Clint replied.   
"That's its. That's your take away from everything I just said," you said, slightly sarcastically.   
"Well, I was worried about you earlier. Thought you might have taken the whole fight thing too seriously," Clint said with sincerity. You smiled weakly, it was nice to know he cared about you.   
"No, I'm fine. Although, for a moment I thought I was going crazy, you know, seeing people," You joked, both laughing slightly.   
"I don't think you're crazy. At least you have a theory about what the fuck is going on. Those so-called geniuses have no clue," Clint said, taking a swig of his beer that you hadn't even noticed had arrived.   
"Yeah, I guess it's better than nothing. Not sure Colson will go for it tho," you replied, picking up the coke that had been placed in front of you.   
"Well, we might as well head back and talk to him. Those two are just drunk now, and looks like they're heading out," Clint said nodding towards Thor and his friend laughing and stumbling out of the bar.   
"Looks like they had fun," you said as you stood up. 

Clint pulled out his wallet and threw a few dollars on the table to pay the waitress.   
"Don't forget the tip," you muttered to Clint as he went to put his wallet away. He sighed but threw a couple more dollars on the table before you both exited the bar. As the pair of you drove back to base, you decided to phone Nat, you missed her and just fancied a girly chat with her. 


	12. Chapter 12

Natasha's POV

Since Amelia had left for her first mission, you had no new assignments and were left alone in New York City for the first time. It had only been about four days, but you were already feeling a bit lonely. You questioned that Amelia might have felt this way when you had left her alone for occasionally a couple of weeks. It was nine in the evening, and you had spent it the way you had the past few days, in your pyjamas after ordering a takeaway of some sort, sprawled out on the couch in front of the TV. The Batchelor was playing, a show you hated. The idea of a man choosing between so many beautiful women who were far too good for him just seemed ridiculous. If there wasn't a TV show involved, this man wouldn't catch most of these women's attention. You scoffed at some cheesy pickup line that the "Batchelor" had said before you were surprised by your phone buzzing on the navy sofa you were sat on, it was Amelia. 

"Hello?" you answered, slightly surprised that she was phoning you.   
"Hi Nat, just thought I'd phone to have a quick catch up. Hope you aren't too lonely without me," Amelia replied, you smiled at the fact she was thinking of you.   
"No no, very happy to have you gone, to be honest. How have you been getting on?" you asked Amelia.  
"Shove off; I know you can't wait for me to be home. Yeah, it's going okay, some weird stuff is going on here, you wouldn't believe it," Amelia told you, and you could hear Clint in the background trying to say something.   
"Hope you are staying safe. Tell Clint I say hi, hope he's being nice to you," you said, knowing what Clint was like. He could be the nicest person on earth, or a sarky son of a bitch depending on his mood. You could hear Clint say something back to you, but couldn't quite make it out.   
"Clint says hi back. I have to go now, Colson wants us to head back into town. Talk later," Amelia told you, your heart sank when she hung up the phone. It was such a short conversation, usually the two of you would talk for hours about all sorts. You couldn't blame her. You knew what it was like to be on the job. 

* * *

You were surprised once more by a knock at the door. You were puzzled as you didn't get visitors often, especially not at this time. You stood up and walked over to the front door, carefully opening it to find Maria stood in front of you. She smiled at you when you realised who it was. She was dressed casually. You usually saw her in her SHIELD uniform, the same as yours; but she was in a pair of skinny black jeans, a grey crop top and a blue flannel shirt thrown on over the top.   
"Hi Nat, hope you don't mind me popping over. Couldn't sleep," Maria explained to you. You couldn't help but like that she had come to you when she couldn't sleep; whilst you would never admit it, there was something between you.   
"No, it's okay. Come on in," you told her, stepping back and opening the door wider to allow Maria to walk past you. She walked over to your sofa and jumped on to it. You followed her over there and sat down next to her. For once her brunette hair wasn't tied up, she had let it fall over her shoulders; perfect, just like her. 

"Can I get you anything, Tea?" you offered Maria. You had turned your body to be directly opposite her, looking into her beautiful blue eyes. She placed her hand on your knee.   
"No, I just want your company," she told you. Your stomach did a somersault; you also wanted her company but had never been brave enough to turn up at her flat as she had yours. Something about Maria excited you; maybe it was because she was not so different from you, a spy just the same. You liked her the moment you had met her, only three years ago, in this very apartment. She had made a silly joke at Clint's expense, you had giggled, and she turned and looked at you. The first time you saw her perfect blue eyes, her sharp jawline that she clenched when she was annoyed, and her elegant ponytail.   
"It's nice to see you, outside of work," you told Maria, realising you hadn't said anything and had just been staring at her face. She smiled, biting her lip and slowly moving her hand further up your leg. Your heart started to beat faster, and you felt butterflies in your stomach. You had avoided this for so long, you didn't want to get involved with Maria after the heartbreak your affair with Anna had caused you. But as Maria slowly leaned into you, the only thought you had was "fuck it", and you pushed your heads forward. 

Your lips crash together, and a rush of electricity runs through your body. Maria's hand moved up from your knee to cup your face as her mouth opened to greet yours. You pushed your tongue into her mouth to meet hers; your tongues and lips danced with each other, each second becoming more intense. Maria's hand moved back, gripping the back of your neck, fingers tangling with your hair. You almost felt dizzy with passion, and the butterflies in your stomach moved down. Placing your hand on Maria's waist, you pulled her closer to you. You began to break apart, causing Maria to bite down on your bottom lip, indicating she didn't want to stop. You broke away from her, the both of you breathless, staring into each other's eyes. Maria's grip around the back of your neck fastened, pulling your face close to hers. 

"Are you sure?" you whispered, although you were certain of what the answer would be.  
"Oh god, I am so sure," Maria replied, and your lips met each other once more. As your tongues continued their dance, you lay back on the couch, pulling Maria with you, so she now lay on top of you. Your free hand gripped onto the back of her head, you wanted to pull her as close as she could possibly be. Your other hand tugged on her shirt, indicating that you wanted it off of Maria. You started to pull it off; unfortunately, you had to break apart for Maria to rip it off completely. As she straddled you, you stared up at her, admiring her beautiful frame. She wasn't wearing a bra, and your hands moved up her abdomen to gently massage her breasts. Maria's head rolled back as you did so, and a small moan escaped her mouth. You bit your lip, her reaction turned you on even more, and you could feel your self getting wet. As you continued, her head fell back down to meet yours, expecting her to continue your make-out session. However, Maria ignored your lips and nuzzled into your neck, and started to lightly kiss you there. 

Her light kisses quickly changed into small bites, and you breathed deeper as she did so. One of your hands moved from her breasts to grip onto her neck once more, pulling her closer and encouraging her exploration. She slowly moved down, kissing every inch of your body as she did so. Your hand that remained on one of her breasts reached round to her back, slowly moving up to meet your other hand on Maria's neck. Maria pulled off your pyjama top, making her way down your stomach until she met the waistband of your bottoms. She slowly pulled them down, exposing you, and your wetness to her. Maria teased you, her lips grazed your right thigh, moving her way up and back down again, never reaching the part that ached for her touch. You moaned as she did so, your hands letting go of Maria's neck, one landing on her head and the other played with your own breast. Maria could sense your desperation, and finally gave in, and her tongue found your clit, causing you to moan louder. Your back arched, pushing your hips towards Maria encouraging her further. Her tongue focused on your clit, flicking it as her fingers found your entrance. She teased you with one finger, slowly pushing it in, before pulling it out suddenly. You gripped onto her head harder, pushing her tongue against your clit as you continued to moan in excitement. She pushed her finger back in, a little deeper this time, and your hand lets go of your nipple to grip onto the sofa. Pleasure coursed through your body, breathing faster and deeper, you were getting close. Maria's mouth broke away from you, not letting you finish just yet. 

"Maria... please..." you begged. Maria only smiled at you before leaning down to meet your lips. She bit your lower lip, causing you to gasp and allowing her tongue entry. Her finger continued to move in and out of you, and her thumb found your clit, and you moaned into Maria. Her thumb moved in tantalising circles on your clit, all while fingering you at a faster pace, before inserting another. Maria's mouth broke away from yours, and her head crashed back to your neck, sucking and biting. As she thrusts harder and harder, you can feel yourself climbing higher and higher. Throwing your head back, you felt a wave of pleasure roll through you as you scream out her name. You buck against her as you orgasm, your walls gripping around her fingers. 

Maria slowly pulls her fingers out of you, licking them clean as she sits up on top of you. You breathe heavily, unable to move as you come down from your excitement. You sit up to meet her, pushing her hair back out of her face. You kissed her one more time, you could feel her smile as you did so. God, if only you'd done this sooner. 


	13. Chapter 13

Amelia's POV 

You hung up the phone, saddened by the short length of your conversation with Nat. You could talk for hours, about anything and everything. You wanted to tell her about what had happened the past day; the fight you had with Thor, the mystery hammer, that literal gods were wandering around New Mexico. However, your conversation would have to wait, as Clint had rudely interrupted your phone call.

"We have to head back, Colson wants us to stay on Thor's tail," Clint told you, sharing your lack of joy over this news. All you wanted to do was sleep, your entire body ached, and you could feel the bruises on your abdomen every time you took a breath.   
"Okay, but I will be going to sleep. You can take watch first, you've had a pretty easy day," you yawned.   
"Fine. But I'm turning on the radio, I don't want to listen to your snoring," Clint said, not entirely sure if he was joking or not.   
"Hey! I do not snore, I just breathe heavily," you said in defence. There may have been a few occasions you had woken yourself up from your snores, but you had a blocked nose at the time.   
"Whatever you say kiddo," Clint said, tuning the radio once he pulled the truck over. You parked opposite a trailer the scientist and his colleagues were staying in, next door to the building they were working in. You shuffled down in your seat to get comfortable, pulling your knees up to your chest and placing your head on the window. As you did so you noticed Thor and a young woman, you recognised as Jane Foster, the astrophysicist Colson had a run-in with, climb up to the roof of the building. They didn't look like they were going anywhere, so you closed your eyes and attempted to get some rest. 

* * *

  
You were woken up by sunlight beaming through the windshield of the car. Both you and Clint had fallen asleep to the sound of the radio, which was still playing. The radio DJ was far too enthusiastic this early in the morning, so you quickly shut it off. You nudged Clint a couple of times to wake him up, which he wasn't too happy about. He mumbled something you couldn't quite make out, before yawning very loudly and going back to sleep. You looked around you, checking if anyone was around yet, and noticed Thor, Jane, and two others sat inside the building, eating breakfast. Your stomach rumbled with jealousy, and you thought about heading over there. You knew you probably shouldn't, your orders were to just watch. But you wanted answers. And breakfast. 

You climbed out of the car, readjusted your trousers and flattened down your top. You pondered getting your holster out, Thor, or Jane, might not be too happy to see you, so you ought to be prepared, just in case. You opened the back seat door, pulled out the holster from your bag and clipped it around your waist. You pulled out your gun and two small daggers before slotting them into place and slamming the car door shut. You check your hair in the wing-mirror, it was a bit of a mess thanks to the jeep's leather seats. You tied it up into a tight ponytail and made your way over to introduce yourself to the god of thunder. You knocked on the glass door that had already been slid open. All four of them turned to look at you, you smiled and walked over to the table they were sat at. 

"If you're here for round two, I'd appreciate it if you let me eat my breakfast first," Thor said, turning his gaze back to the plate in front of him.   
"That's not what I'm here for, Thor," You said to him. He shot up to look at your face again, slightly surprised you knew his name.  
Jane glanced at the weapons in your holster, understanding who you were, the look of confusion on her face vanished, replaced with anger. Before Thor could question you, Jane got there first.  
"SHIELD has already taken all of my work, what more could you possibly want!" Jane exclaimed, slamming her cutlery down. You were slightly taken aback by her anger, as was Thor. The other two just continued to eat, entertained by it all.   
"That's not what I'm here for either," you said, pulling up a chair and sitting down in between Thor and the other girl.   
"What are you here for?" Thor asked, frowning at you.   
"Breakfast mainly," you said, picking up a bowl and a box of unbranded cereal. They all stared at you in silence as you fixed yourself some breakfast. 

"Who is this chick?" the girl next to you asked.   
"Oh, sorry. I'm Sarah, SHIELD agent, nice to meet you," you told her, not wanting to use your real name. You placed your spoon in the bowl and reached your hand out to shake the girls.  
"Cool, I'm Darcy. I'm an intern, so I'm not really part of this, I mean I don't even get paid, so you know..." Darcy said, shaking your hand. You laughed a little, it appeared she was worried about why you were here.  
"Nice to meet you, Darcy," you said, turning back to your bowl of cereal and taking another spoonful. 

"Explain yourself," Thor demanded. He continued to glare at you as you finished chewing your food.   
"SHIELD doesn't know who you are, and they don't like not knowing stuff. But I think I do know who you are, and why your here. Although, I have your brother to thank for that one," you explained after swallowing your food. Thor's face finally relaxed, and he sat back in his chair. He chuckled lightly.   
"You met Loki, huh?" he asked you. He looked to the floor as he spoke, clearly still hurting from the news Loki had brought him.  
"Briefly. He didn't seem overly fond of me," you replied, pushing pieces of cereal around the bowl with your spoon.   
"Loki's not fond of many people," Thor said softly, turning his eyes back to you.  
"I heard your conversation. I heard about your father. And your banishment," you said, making eye contact with Thor, but he did not respond. "I didn't believe it at first that you were really Thor. That you were even real. You, your brother, Asgard. It's just a myth. But I guess you're not a myth. I mean the god of thunder is sat right in front of me," you continued, chuckling as you finished your sentence. 

"I told you, Eric! I knew I was right!" Darcy exclaimed at the man sat at the table. Eric looked at you in disbelief, he had heard the same stories but refused to believe them to be more than that.  
"Huh," is all Eric could manage, and you turned back to Thor.   
"It doesn't matter much, you knowing who I am. I can't get my hammer back. I can't go home," Thor sighed. He was right, it didn't change much, it only gave you peace of mind.   
"Well, I might be able to get your work back, Ms Foster," you turned to Jane. As she opened her mouth to respond, she was interrupted by a loud tap on the glass. All four of you turned to face the source of the noise and found four strangely dressed people stood outside the window. Thor shot up from the table and rushed over to invite them in.

  
"My friends!" he exclaimed as he did so. Asgardians, that explained the getup.   
"Thor! Good to see you," one of them said, pulling him in for a hug. As Thor greeted the rest, the man introduced himself as Fandral. The others were Hogun, Volstagg, and Sif, all warriors who had fought side-by-side with Thor. Thor introduced the four of you back to his friends and thanked them all for coming to visit. They looked slightly confused when Thor thanked them.   
"Were not here to visit, we've come to take you home," Sif explained to him. Thor, and you, were confused by this. He was banished after all.   
"But, my banishment. I can't come home," Thor said with sadness in his voice.   
"Whatever lies Loki has told you, they are not true. Your father will awake soon, and he will realise his mistake," Sif reassured him.   
"My father, he's not.... he's not dead?" Thor questioned. Turns out Loki was a bit of twat. He really was the god of mischief.   
"No, Thor, he's not," Sif told him, placing her hand on his arm to comfort him. 

"Well I didn't know the renaissance fair was in town," Clint said out of nowhere. He had finally woken up and joined the party.   
"Morning sleepyhead, nice of you to join us," you said sarcastically. Just as Thor and the others began to ask who Clint was, you were all interrupted by rather loud, crashing footsteps. You all rushed outside to see where the noise was coming from, to find a gigantic silver robot walking towards you. At first, you thought it might have been one of Stark's suits, but this was far bigger and looked more like a knight's suit of armour. You looked to Thor, who knew exactly what this was. No doubt it was sent by Loki.   
"What the fuck is that thing?" you asked him, as it grew closer to the town.   
"That. Is the destroyer," Thor told you.   
"Oh, that sounds fun," you said with a large helping of sarcasm.   
"Ah, so you are a fellow warrior?" Fandral said to you, not understanding your sarcasm. Clint laughed a little, and you smacked him on the arm. In a way, you were a kind of warrior.  
"In a sense, yes," you told him. Although you weren't equipt to fight something called the destroyer. 

Thor explained to his friends that he was now a fellow mortal, and that he could not help to fight, but that he would evacuate the town whilst they fought the giant robot. You offered to help Thor evacuate, and Clint armed himself with his bow and arrow to help fight. As you turned to see that the destroyer had reached the edge of the town, Sif pulled out two large swords that combined to form an even larger spear.   
"That's not fair, her knives are bigger than mine," you whined, making Sif laugh before her and the other's ran towards the robot.   
"It's not all about size," she yelled back at you as she ran. 

You started telling people to get out of their homes, off the street, and out of the small town. But as you did so, the face of the destroyer opened up, and fire rose up its body and shot out of it. This destroyed three buildings effortlessly. These warriors better be good, you thought to yourself.


	14. Chapter 14

Amongst all this chaos, your mind somehow ended up at the thought of school. How would you explain your absence, you'd never taken more than two days off in a row. It's not like you could tell them the truth, that you had got beaten up by a god, or that you had witnessed Asgardians fight a gigantic metal man that shot fire out of its face. However, that one would be slightly more believable after Iron Man. You were good at lying, a KGB spy and assassin raised you, so that wasn't a surprise. But you never took much joy in deception, especially when you had to deceive your friends. They didn't know much about you. It was easier to keep secrets than lie about who you were, who your mom was, that a small army of SHIELD agents raised you. When people asked you a personal question, you quickly brushed it off, made a silly joke or changed the subject. Eventually, they learnt to stop asking. You had let your mind wander for too long, and you were quickly snapped back into reality by the sound of the gas station exploding. The four warriors were heading straight for the culprit, and you just hoped they had a good plan. 

For a brief moment, it looked like the warriors had easily defeated the Destroyer as Sif jumped off the roof and struck her spear through its back. It felt as if the whole town sighed in relief simultaneously. This relief was short-lived, as the Destroyer turned its entire body around, with the spear still stuck in its body. Thankfully, most of the civilians were currently heading out of the town in various vehicles. Only Thor, the science crew, the warriors, Clint, and yourself remained in the presence of the Destroyer. It had thrown all four of the Asgardians across the town. One ended up in a coffee shop, which the Destroyer had then blown up. He had managed to crawl out of it, but he was clearly injured. Clint was sending an endless parade of arrows to the machine, but with no luck. It was creeping closer and closer to Thor, Jane, Darcy, Eric and you. As three of them ran up the street away from the Destroyer, Thor grabbed onto your arm. 

"Keep them safe, please," he said to you, understanding what he had to do. Its mission was Thor, and it would only stop once its mission was completed.   
"Yeah," you managed to push out, as a wave of sadness washed over you. You didn't know Thor, but despite this, and that he had given you some nasty bruises, you liked him. He was a good man, which he was about to prove with his sacrifice.   
"Thank you," he whispered, before running over to Sif who was crouching behind a flipped car. You ran up to join the others, telling them we had to leave. The warriors joined you as you headed towards Jane's van. 

"Kid, I've called in Colson, but I don't think more agents are going to be able to do much," Clint said as he snuck up behind you. He had been stood on the rooftop of a building that had just collapsed.   
"I don't think we will need them," you said to Clint, turning to look back at Thor, who was now walking towards the Destroyer. 

"What is he doing?" Jane said with concern. She turned and stopped at the sight of Thor trying to bargain with Loki, offering himself to protect everyone else. You had to hold Jane back, all she wanted to do was run to him, to beg him not to leave her. But she couldn't, you had sworn to protect her. You all stood in silence as you watched Thor plead with his brother, for a moment, it looked as if he had succeeded. The Destroyer turned to walk away, but it swung its arm around and struck Thor down before it did. You closed your eyes and winced slightly at sight. 

"NO!" Jane exclaimed as she slipped out of your grasp and ran towards Thor. She wept over his weakened body, her hands cupping his face. It was a painful sight, you felt a teardrop travel down your cheek and a lump in your throat. You weren't the only one, as you looked at the people stood beside you, you realised you were sharing the same grief. The sombre mood was broken when you noticed something flying towards you. A smile spread across your face knowing it was Mjölnir, Thor's hammer, returning to him. Eric ran to Jane and pulled her out of the way, understanding what was about to happen. 

As Thor's hand wrapped around the handle and a bolt of lightning shot out of the hammer, you were indeed glad he didn't have it when you first met him. Thor struck down the Destroyer with ease now his powers had returned to him. He strutted back over to Jane, who was very impressed with his new get up. Thor was now dressed in a black armoured suit, with silver, scale-like sleeves and a red cape that ran all the way down his back to the floor. It was a good look for him. 

Along with a few agents, Colson had just arrived and was certainly curious about what Thor had to say for himself.   
"Listen to me, son of Cole, I want what you want. To protect this realm, and you have my word that I will if you return the items you stole from this woman," Thor told Colson, moving to stand next to Jane. It was cute that he liked her so much, a god falling for a mortal—a tale as old as time.   
"Technically we didn't steal them. But yes, you can have them back, you'll need them to finish your research," Colson responded, and a huge smile spread across Jane's face. Thor said something about returning to the Bifrost sight, and then suddenly shot up into the sky, taking Jane with him. 

"That's not fair, how are you guys supposed to get there?" you asked Sif, who was stood next to you.   
"We can take you in the van. If you want," Darcy offered. That thought made you chuckle, four proud Asgardian warriors in a shitty old van.   
"So Thor was just showing off right? Because having to wait for you while you get dropped off by his girlfriend's intern doesn't seem very time-efficient," you said to Sif as you all climbed into the van. All the warriors laughed at your comment, which made you happy. You enjoyed making people laugh.   
"Thor's always been more about appearances than logic," Sif joked as you headed off to catch up with Thor. 

You eventually found him, and Jane stood in the middle of the desert. Thor looked a little bit crazy as he was yelling "Heimdall" at the sky, with concern in his voice.   
"He doesn't answer," Thor said to his friends, before continuing to yell at the sky.   
"We are stranded then," Volstagg said before he was proven wrong. A rainbow cloud that looked a bit like a tornado travelled down towards the ground. All the Asgardians smiled with relief, so it must have been the Bifrost.   
"I guess this is goodbye then," you said to Thor. He nodded at you. "I'll keep my promise," you said to him. He smiled at you,  
"Thank you, Sarah. Perhaps one day we will fight side by side," Thor said to you, which made you smile. That would certainly be an adventure.  
"Maybe. Say hi to Loki for me," you joked. You said your goodbyes to the warriors as they walked over to the Bifrost sight.   
"I would be honoured to fight by your side," Sif said to you with a wink, making you smile even wider. 

As you were saying your goodbyes, Thor pulled Jane in close. They had a very intimate moment, and you felt a bit weird watching it. You and Darcy made eye contact, both feeling a bit uncomfortable.   
"So what are you guys plans?" Darcy asked you and Clint trying to make conversation.   
"Uh, I don't really know," you shrugged.   
"Cool," Darcy replied, and an awkward silence fell as Thor kissed Jane. You looked around, trying to give them a bit of privacy. Luckily Thor had to head off as the Bifrost opened, and you watched the five Asgardians disappear. 

Colson had also followed Thor to the site, just in time to watch him go back home. He had a conversation with Jane about her research, telling her how important her work was. You wondered over to them, not wanting to interrupt.   
"Hi, sorry. Uh, Colson am I cool to head home. Just I'm exhausted, and this seemed to have sorted itself out pretty well. Plus no hammer to guard now," you asked him, slightly awkwardly.   
"Yeah, you and Clint are good to go. You should be able to get a flight back to New York on the jet, Fury wants to see you," Colson nodded. You were slightly worried that Fury wanted to talk to you, it was like being told to stay after class. However, you were exhausted and were very grateful you could head back on one of SHIELD's private jets. You couldn't wait to sleep the entire way home, and you definitely couldn't wait to see Nat. 


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I haven't updated in a while, been super busy with school work. Hopefully I'll be able to post a bit more from now.

You jumped on the first seat you found on the jet and melted into it. You hadn't slept properly in a few days and couldn't wait to sleep all the way back to New York. You should probably phone Nat, let her know you were on your way home, but if Fury wanted to talk to you, she was probably already aware. Satisfied with your explanation, you grabbed a blanket from the overhead locker and shuffled into a comfortable position. Just as you were about to close your eyes, Clint climbed into the jet, followed closely by Eric, the physicist you had met this morning. 

"I would appreciate it if you could just tell me what all of this is about", Eric demanded, clearly just as confused as you were by his presence on the SHIELD jet.

"Sorry, Director Fury just asked me to bring you with me. He didn't tell me why," Clint explained, collapsing into a seat at the other end of the plane, not wanting to be bothered. 

"You have any idea?" Eric asked you. You shook your head. 

"No idea, didn't even know you'd be joining us", you yawned, closing your eyes to end the conversation. While you were curious about why Eric was there, you were far more tired and wanted simply to sleep. So you did, minuted after you closed your eyes, you were asleep, dreaming about a talking dog.

* * *

"Kid, wake up, or you'll end up god knows where," Clint said, shaking you awake. 

"Yeah yeah, I'm up," you said, stretching your arms, annoyed that you couldn't sleep just a few minutes longer. You stood up from your seat, folded the blanket wrapped around you and placed it neatly on the seat. Grabbing your bag, you walked off the plane and was greeted by Nick Fury himself.

"Amelia, you get to ride in my car. As well as you, Eric," Fury said, smiling at the pair of you, both exhausted and confused.

"Yay," you said sarcastically. You didn't want to go in Fury's car, you wanted to go straight home, but it didn't appear you had much choice.

You followed Nick over to the jeep, and he opened the passenger door for Eric. Not only did you have to ride in the same car as the director of SHIELD, but you also had to sit in the back. Typical. 

"Would you mind telling me where you're taking me?" Eric asked Fury. He was not driving into New York City. It looked like he was heading to one of the SHIELD bases located just outside the city.

"Don't worry, you're not in trouble, doctor. In fact, we could use your help with something. I'll explain once we reach the base," Nick replied, focusing on the road. It was very early in the morning. The sun was only just beginning to rise, and the road was very dimly lit. You would love nothing more than to climb into bed and sleep for the rest of the day, but Nick had other plans. Why Eric was so essential to SHIELD, you didn't know, but you imagined they wanted to recruit him. The world was changing, evolving even. America needed the smartest people on their side right now, and Eric was undoubtedly one of them.

"How did you know who he was?" Eric turned around to look at you. He was asking about Thor. You hadn't talked to each other about that. 

"I like mythology, just didn't think it was real," you shrugged. It was true. You never would've guessed that the correct answer to religion were Norse gods, but they were real. You had proof of that. 

"I refused to believe he could be Thor. It just doesn't make sense," Eric said, turning back to face the road, shaking his head.

"A lot of things don't make sense. Super soldiers, men in metal suits. Earth's a weird place these days," you responded. Eric laughed in response. 

"You met Loki?" Eric asked you, recalling your earlier conversation with Thor. 

"Yeah, but he wasn't too pleased about that. He was trying to sneak around, didn't like getting caught," you replied, smiling to yourself. There was something about Loki you quite liked, despite what he did to Thor. You could see his green eyes looking into yours, his smirk as he looked down at you, and you felt a strange sense of comfort. You didn't understand it. 

Your daydreaming was interrupted by Nick slamming his car door shut. You quickly undid your seat belt and climbed out of the jeep, not wanting to keep Nick waiting. He ushered Eric and yourself into the SHIELD building, where you followed Nick into an elevator. 

"Amelia, it's official. You're a SHIELD agent. Congratulations," Fury told you, staring straight ahead. 

"Oh, cool," you replied, unsure how to respond. You were happy, of course. You had wanted this for a long time, but Fury's casual attitude but a bit of a downer on the moment. 

"Cool indeed. Hill will let you know your day-to-day assignments on Monday, but I want you involved in this as well," Fury instructed, not explaining what  _ this  _ was.

"Right, thanks," you said, still unsure of what to say. 

The short conversation was over as the elevator doors opened in front of you. You were now underground, a part of the base you had never been to before. 

"Follow me," Nick said, walking with purpose down the hallway. He pushed open a door on the left side of the corridor, but you could not read the sign on the door, thanks to the low lighting. You had no idea where you were or why you were there. Then Nick suddenly had a briefcase, which he placed carefully on the table in the middle of the room. You were sure where he got it from. The room you were in was large and filled with metal storage cabinets, tables, computers and the like. It was likely a research lab for strange things. No doubt the hammer would've been brought here if it could've been used. 

"Doctor, you are a brilliant man. SHIELD believes you could be of great use," Nick said to Eric, slowly opening the briefcase in front of him. 

"For what?" Eric questioned. As Nick lifted the lid, his face was lit up by a glowing blue light from inside the case. He turned the case around, revealing a strange blue cube. It looked as if it was made of glass and filled with blue light, almost like energy. 

"With this. Will you help us, doctor?" Nick asked. Eric paused for a moment, thinking of his answer. Before he answered, you felt a cold chill in the room, and you could've sworn you heard Loki's voice.

"Yes, I will," Eric responded. 

You quickly excused yourself and let Fury and Eric talk about the cube. You strolled down the corridor, looking around you, almost expecting to find Loki. 

"Looking for someone?" a voice came from behind you. A voice you recognised. Just as you predicted. 

"Loki," you said, turning to face him. You almost didn't recognise him. He looked different from when you first met. His hair was no longer neatly pushed back; instead, greasy strands fell down the side of his face, his green eyes had a glazed look to them, and he simply seemed sadder. You stepped towards him cautiously. He didn't smirk at you the way he did during your last conversation, and you felt slightly uneasy. 

"What are you doing here?" you asked Loki, now stood directly in front of him. 

"Well, technically, I'm not really here," he smiled at you. Oh, that smile. It was that smile that gave you butterflies. You rolled your eyes at him, desperately trying to act casual. 

"I'm just having a look around. Need something to do, now I'm banished from Asguard," Loki explained, his smile faltering at the end of his sentence.

"Quite the pair you and Thor make, always getting banished. Although I suppose it's too be expected from the god of mischief," you said, trying to lighten up the situation. You could tell Loki was hurt. By what exactly you didn't know, but you wanted to help. 

"I see you've done your homework," Loki responded, his smile now firmly fixed on his face. 

"I already knew who you were, just didn't think you were real. A bit of a shock that," you smiled back at him.

"Well, I do apologise. I never meant to frighten you," Loki said with a hint of sarcasm. Your heart was beating faster. You were enjoying this interaction a little too much. You definitely shouldn't be. I mean, he was a god that was probably thousands of years old, for heaven's sake.

Just as you opened your mouth to respond, Fury pushed open the door and shouted down the corridor. You whipped round to face him.

"Amelia, there's a car waiting to take you home. Maria will be over on Monday to bring you in," Fury informed you as he started walking down the other end of the corridor. You nodded and quickly turned back to Loki, only to find him gone. Probably for the best. 


End file.
